In today’s digital age, screens are ubiquitous, seamlessly integrated into nearly every aspect of our daily lives. “Modern life inundates us with screens, yet we often overlook their profound impact on our sleep patterns. From smartphones to laptops, screens can disrupt our sleep without us realizing it.” Our immersion in device screens exposes us to artificial blue light, disrupting our natural circadian rhythm and inhibiting melatonin production. This disruption affects our sleep-wake cycles, highlighting the importance of managing screen time for better sleep quality. Understanding how screentime affects our sleep is essential in navigating the modern world while prioritizing our rest and well-being.
Did you know that reading this right now will affect how well you sleep tonight? You may be saying, I’m reading this in the morning/afternoon, so what?—but it doesn’t matter to your melatonin!
Blue Light Disruption
We’re talking about the blue light coming from the screen on which you are reading this. Indoor light sources, like LED lights and televisions, emit blue light, affecting sleep patterns. This light disrupts the production of melatonin, essential for regulating sleep-wake cycles. You may have heard to avoid screen time before sleep, but why?
Blue light refers to the length of the wavelengths that these artificial light sources create. Blue light wavelengths are the shortest of the light spectrum, and it’s because of this that it causes so many disruptions. These wavelengths flicker, causing glare, eyestrain, and changes in the sharpness and clarity of our vision.
These pesky blue lights emitted from screens and artificial lights disrupts your brain’s melatonin production because it stimulates photoreceptors in the retina. Aside from also causing oxidative stress, the blue light is absorbed by the retina itself, which causes thermal stress. When it stimulates the retinal photoreceptors, it decreases melatonin production.
Blue light can cause your natural sleep-wake circadian rhythm cycle to be off by as much as 3 hours after being exposed for just 6.5 hours; not even a full workday for most of us!
Combat Screen Fatigue
Two hours of working on a computer screen is all it takes to produce eyestrain and fatigue, which is a serious downer for your productivity. Try using blue-light blocking glasses (which come in all shapes and sizes and feature amber lenses which block the blue light) to relieve the stress of our technological world.
If you’ve got serious trouble sleeping or can’t avoid the screens late at night, you can supplement with our Melatonin drops which go under the tongue for quick and efficient help to get to sleep quicker. They’re great for a reset if you’ve been traveling or suffering from jet-lag or trying to get used to a new sleep schedule, too.
Now, go take a screen break and spend some time in bright sunlight to get your rhythm back!
References
Publishing, H. (n.d.). Blue light has a dark side. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
Also read our blog on What is Aniracetam?
