How Is Technology Affecting Your Sleep?
Research indicates that adults
require 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to function properly. However, not
many can say that they've had a restful night, and studies prove that
technology is one of the many factors to blame. While our smartphones and tablets
make life easier in many ways, they might also be responsible for all those
times we wake up feeling grumpy and sleep deprived. It might not be difficult
to recover from this initial grogginess, but prolonged sleep deprivation is
known to cause reduced cognitive functioning, mood swings and chronic health
problems like high blood pressure and heart disease.
If you find yourself longing for a
good night's sleep, understanding how technology affects your sleep patterns
can help you to take small steps to start sleeping better.
It Affects your Body Clock
Everybody has a body clock that
regulates their sleeping schedule - it tells us when to sleep and wake up. This
clock is controlled by the hormone 'melatonin'. Research has found that blue
light emitted from digital screens (our laptops or smartphones) suppresses
melatonin, interfering with our body clocks. This disruption causes
irregularities in our sleep cycles that have an effect on our mood - making us
feel tired, irritable and prone to experiencing anger and hostility.
Additionally, there's also research to show that constant fatigue is
responsible for poor decision making in logical, rule-based tasks.
Sleep
Better: Start by creating a sleep-friendly
zone in your bedroom. Do this by establishing one simple ground rule-no
electronics in the bedroom. Yes, this includes your laptop and television! If
keeping your electronics outside the bedroom seems too difficult a task, follow
the rule of 'no electronics use in the bedroom' post a certain time in the night
(preferably 30 to 60 minutes prior to bedtime). This in turn will allow you to
fall asleep quickly.
It's Keeping You Awake
There's nothing more frustrating
than finally falling asleep but hearing the buzz of incoming notifications from
your phone. To avoid the negative effects associated with sleep deprivation,
it's important to get a full night's rest rather than fragmented periods of
sleep. This fragmentation interrupts memory processes and research indicates
that it affects our performance on tasks related to attention and memory.
Sleep
Better: Switching off your phone and any
device that might wake you up in the middle of the night would be ideal,
however if that sounds too extreme, put your phone on the silent, and/or no
vibrate mode.
It Enables Sleep Procrastination
Ever told yourself that you are so
exhausted that you must sleep by 11:00 pm, but then you find yourself watching
a YouTube video or texting a friend at 12:30 am? It happens with all of us. The
use of technology often leads to sleep procrastination, which involves going to
bed later than intended, even though there are no legitimate external
circumstances accountable for doing so.
Sleep
Better: Start by identifying the cause of
your procrastination. If the cause is binge watching a television show, try
turning off the television and your laptop half an hour before your bedtime and
use that half hour to get your body to power down. You can do this by having a
glass of milk, changing into pyjamas or reading.
Use it Wisely to Sleep Better
With the right kind of technology,
you can actually regulate your sleep cycle. A number of fitness trackers are
widely available today and can be worn around the wrist to track your sleep.
Such trackers provide data about the number of hours of sleep as well as the
quality of sleep. As a result, they allow you to set sleep goals and calculate
your progress towards achieving these goals.
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