The world today is a global village thanks to technological devices ranging from our smartphones to our laptop and television. These inventions have shaped our day to day activities with many advantages but using such gadgets too close to bedtime comes at a cost. For starters, they can become quite addictive and impossible to leave and sleep. This can become a problem that will affect other activities of an individual.
Furthermore, the circadian rhythm or the body clock responsible for the sleep-wake cycle can be affected by the blue light emitted from our devices. So many studies have been carried out about the potential hazards that may be associated with using computers and other mobile gadgets. Our phones and computers are built with LED – Light emitting diodes. Unfortunately, our body works with the amount of light it gets, as darkness gradually replaces the sunlight, our body knows to go to sleep and rest.
The circadian rhythm controls when we sleep, the timing of our feeding, our brain activity, cell regeneration, and hormonal production. The importance of this is that it is connected with sunlight. The brain syncs the time of sleep with when sunlight comes up and when it gets dark. This is sensed by the eyes, and it further sends signals to the brain. Consequently, the brain tells the body to start relaxing and sleep, as soon as sunlight starts dimming with sleep hormones, especially melatonin. In the morning, when the body senses light the brain controls the production of cortisol hormone, which helps the body wake up and begin the day’s activity.
However, whenever we stay glued to our devices, it deprives our body of the adequate rest it needs. This is because the eyes are the channel our body senses the presence or absence of light, making the body decide it is not time to rest just yet. Although, the body gets exhausted by staying up longer than required due to the confusion of our body clock.
There is a medical condition known as Insomnia, and this is closely related to depression. Depression, on the other hand, is associated with suicides and homicides. This is why there is an urgent need to solve the problem posed by our technological devices. However, the advantages of these devices far surpass the potential hazards, and it has been entrenched in the very way modern life is lived. Therefore, instead of suggesting we throw away all our computers and mobile devices, why not simply use the same technology to solve the problem.
Several steps can be taken to avoid the interference of sleep with the blue light being produced by the LED which our Televisions also possesses. You may have to set up a fixed time when all your devices are shut down to avoid having sleepless nights. If that is difficult, then you may want to check out computer glasses which significantly helps to combat the issue of sleep and mental disturbance caused by the use of LED gadgets.