Electronic Insomnia: The Information SuperHighway and Sleep
It should come as no surprise that staring at a computer screen and enthusiastically typing or surfing not only can steal precious time you should be banking in deep sleep, but the actual light emanating from the screen can also disrupt your body's ability to prepare for sleep and literally wind down.
The same holds true for avid television watchers whose late-night shows can be stimulating and sleep-depriving. Numerous survey findings have shown that people who spend more pre-bedtime hours using the Internet or watching television are more likely to report that they don't get enough sleep, even though they sleep almost as long as people who spend fewer pre-bedtime hours in front of a computer or television screen.
In a study written up in the industry journal Sleep and Biological Rhythms just last month, researchers confirmed this finding and took it a step further by saying that longer electronic media use before sleep triggers a self-perception of insufficient sleep.
Translation: Internet and TV use prior to bed may have less to do with how long you sleep at night and more to do with how much sleep you really need and the quality of that sleep.
When people ask me for the "secrets" to a good night's sleep -- and avoiding insomnia -- I often start by explaining how to have a Power Down hour prior to bedtime. This is when you relax and remove yourself from the tasks and chores of everyday living that can keep you wired and awake. No house cleaning. No kitchen duties. No work. Think warm bath. Think light reading.
But if you asked for just a single secret tip to follow that's definitive and could pretty much guarantee a restful night's sleep, it would be this: avoid the Internet 30 minutes before bedtime.
Which begs the question: do people who use the Internet or watch TV before bedtime need more sleep because of this habit? Or do they only report that they didn't get sufficient sleep because 1) they likely did have trouble falling asleep with images from the TV and Internet fresh in mind, and 2) they didn't experience as restful sleep had they avoided all that stimulating content right before bed (and they probably would have logged one more cycle of sleep).
I really don't know what the answer is to that last one, but I do know that if you are having problems sleeping the chances are low you are going to find the answer sitting 12 inches from a computer screen.
And while I'm making this suggestion, let me add one more: turn off the cell phone!
Last week, Time magazine reported on three new papers in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep that address the question of sleeplessness. Some of the studies' findings were very familiar: teens who don't sleep enough can partly blame their cellphone use; and adults can blame work.
The silver lining: both of these sleep thieves can be tamed if you make an effort. Power down those cellphones when you power down your body in prep for bedtime. (But I'm not sure how imposing curfews on your kids' cell phones will go over. Good luck with that.)
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: insomnia, sleep, sleep doctor, internet, cell phones
5 Comments:
I found this article very interesting, especially as I am guilty of late night computer activities which sometimes go on until 2:00 and 3:00 am if I get absorbed in some task - online or offline. My problem is upper back pain when I try to relax on a couch say! Even watching television, has to be done in a semi-lying down position, partially on my side,which often ends up with me falling asleep at the wrong time. I am much more comfortable on my computer chair - and so I have tended to stay there until I am just too beat up to stay any longer and then climb into bed exhausted. The less sleep I get, the back pain gets worse and its never been properly diagnosed. My first family doctor called it one thing, a specialist said I might have poly neuropathy, for which I am taking gabapentin, and the family doctor I have now calls it arthritis.
I know I do get as much sleep as I need, overall, but usually at the wrong time, and it seems to be a difficult cycle to break. I just have too many projects on the computer, and seem to get slower at completing any of them as I get older. I am now 72 so I am not too good at rigorous exercise, but I have found that when on holiday, having to walk until I hurt, (I just have to get all those great digital photographs for a photoblog I belong to) but I do sleep at a normal time without the computer.
Thanks for your article - it really confirms what I had figured out anyway about being always so tired.
Go figure! I'm just the opposit. If I go to bed and put the TV on, I fall asleep. When reading my emails online, the computer screen puts me to sleep. I start nodding while looking at the monitor screen. Sometimes when I have trouble, I take a Tyenol PM, watch the monitor screen and start nodding out, then I go to bed and fall fast asleep. Go figure.
I am blessed that after being treated for sleep apnea, that I sleep like a rock.However, I have to have the T.V. on to fall asleep, or at least I thought so. I went to bed without the T.V. on last night and slept well, much to my surprise.
My hubby, on the other hand, is a chronic severe insomniac for at least 30 years and am sure is the cause of many of his health issues. He spends an inordinate amount of time on a computer screen and loves his big screen.This article was most interesting.
Ro
This article was very refreshing and informative, after all the (internet)information I've been getting on insomnia. However, due to an illness (Vasculitis) and the medications I have to take, I've been having problems sleeping.So I was given Gabapentin (Neurontin) 600 mgs at night, (for nerve damage) and that puts me to sleep. Before taking the 600mg, I was on 300mg and had to take Ambien along with it, at bed time. Now, without the Ambien, the 600mg of Gabapentin is a great help. (I was getting too used to the Ambien!) I DO shut off the computer earlier in the evening,by 7:00 pm and then watch TV till 10:00. Before going to bed, I take a warm cup of milk with honey, and getting to sleep at a regular time, has been great.
For those who can't sleep, a warm cup of milk with a tspn. of honey REALLY works. Try it, and you'll be surprised. Good Luck and Sleep Well.
I do have this problem no matter how hard I try to break it. But I don't go past 12 or 1 or 2 and then just go bed and get some sleep. Still feel sleepy when I wake up, but deal with it. Know its not good for me.
Thank you.
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