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How does Technology Affect Sleep?

The modern technologies are created to help people and make the life easier. In nowadays each house has a computer, phone, TV. People cannot imagine their daily routine without this stuff.  Men, women, children have become dependent. These technologies have a big influence on all part of our life: business, family, love etc.

Most modern people all day work with a computer, conduct negotiations using a phone. After the hard workday, they back to home and sit in front of a laptop or TV again. They talk with relatives, friends using gadgets, or watch TV lying in the bad. They think that it is the rest and the best way of relaxing. Unfortunately, they wrong. According to The Telegraph,  these useful things have a bad side, too.

 

Facts and research

Scientists at the Royal College of London and Cardiff University conducted a study in which more 100 thousand people of different ages participated, which allowed them to establish how modern technologies affect sleep. LED screens of modern devices to emit a lot of so-called “blue light”, which negatively affects a person. This applies to both smartphones, and TVs or monitors. Scientists have found that the use of smartphones or tablets before sleeping doubles the risk of interruption of sleep during the night, and causes an increased sense of drowsiness the next day.

It is noteworthy that almost the same effect was observed even if the gadgets in the bedroom were turned off at night. From which it follows that modern means of communication and electronic games are generally better to clean out of the bedroom. The fact is that the modern rhythm of life implies that a person is always online, and this has a bad influence on the nervous system. People may be worried cause they will be able to miss an “important” message or a news.

A survey of the 2017 American Psychological Association shows that 99% of adults own at least one electronic device, about 86% own a computer, 74% own a smartphone, and 55% have a tablet.

 

The consequences of the frequent use of technology before bedtime:

   1.  A headache. Almost all modern gadgets produce electromagnetic radiation. Waves pass through our body and disrupt normal cellular functioning and biological processes. Electromagnetic waves can cause headaches, insomnia and even disorders of the immune system. Doctors strongly recommend not leaving mobile devices on bedside tables for the night, especially approximately the person’s head.

   2. Deterioration of sleep quality or Sleeplessness. You can wake up several times a night for no apparent reason. In addition, in the morning you feel tired and unhappy. These symptoms indicate an increased nervousness, which is often caused by the frequent use of modern technologies and having a bad mattress or/and a pillow. Happysleepyhead.com can help you to improve your sleep by providing you with great buying guides and lists of good mattresses, pillows, and other sleep equipment.

  3. Nightmares. A large amount of information from different sources, which is not always joyful, can cause fear during sleep. Often a person may not even remember what exactly he dreamed and why his peace was broken. Violent films or games with elements of violence before bedtime are mainly the cause of nightmares. To get rid of them, stop watch them very often and in the evening.

    4. Irritability. It is a manifestation of negative emotions with increased aggression and without cause which person cannot control. Long stay in a state of irritation depletes the nervous system and often leads to neuroses, depressions, aggravates problems in the personal life and work of a person. There is a danger of abuse of alcohol for removing irritability, sometimes people are excessively addicted to unhealthy food, and these addictions, although they bring a false sense of relaxation, ultimately only exacerbate the problem.

    5. Depression. The more time a person devotes to his phone, the higher his chance to earn depression. Teenagers who spend more than five hours a day with their gadgets have a high risk of earning depression and committing suicide. A sharp increase in depressed mood began in the 2010s. In 2015, 33% more people complained about depression than in 2010. Beautiful life on TV screens, social networks, makes people think about their own failure, which in the result leads to a depression. Note that scientists are not the first time to report the danger of excessive hobbies smartphones and social networks. Studies have shown that people who spend a lot of time on Facebook experience a lot of stress and anxiety – they are worried about the decline in popularity in social networks, denial of requests for friends. In addition, people tend to compare themselves with other users and often feel inadequate on their background.

 

How to reduce the negative impact of technology?

We do not encourage you to abandon the use of modern technology, and just want to protect your life and health. Remember some rules for using gadgets and you will be safe:

  •    switch off all devices with sockets before sleep;
  •    never charge the phone near your head;
  •    set a time limit for the use of devices not more than 5 hours a day;
  •    do not use gadgets 2 hours before bedtime.

 

Modern and new devices are very important in our world. Your direct business, work, communication with friends and relatives depends on them. Use them for your own good, but do not abuse it and always remember about precautions. However, do not sleep too much when you reduce the usage of gadgets, it may cause some negative consequences.  

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