Smartphones and Tablets: Their overuse night sleepAn iPad tablet EMMANUEL DUNAND AFP.COM
HEALTH - The backlit displays a key hormone disrupting sleep, says a U.S. study...
You have trouble falling asleep at night? Your smartphone or tablet touch could be the cause. Researchers Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, published a study in the journal Ergonomics Applied that the light emitted by the screens of these devices can affect melatonin, which regulates the chronobiological rhythms. This hormone, produced in response to darkness by the pineal gland located at the back of the brain is essential for sleep.
The researchers analyzed the levels of this hormone in 13 people (mostly teenagers) who they asked to watch videos, play games or read backlit display in the dark. "Our study shows that a two-hour exposure to light backlit devices can suppress melatonin about 22%," says Mariana Figueroa, who led the research. In light of these new screens thus disrupts hormone secretion and sleep may make you a bad night. This is precisely the blue light emitted by the light emitting diodes (LED) used for the backlight, which is a problem.