Reasons you Should Stop Using Your Smartphone Before Going to Bed

We all know it’s a bad habit but now there’s science that proves that looking at your smartphone in bed is a certified bad idea.

Smartphone Light Cause Havoc on Your Sleep Cycle

The bright blue light your smartphone releases comes in handy during the day; it has a different effect at night while you’re in bed. Since the blue light is meant to mimic sunlight, your brain gets confused and stops producing melatonin(colour-changing hormone: a hormone derived from serotonin and secreted by the pineal gland that produces changes in the skin colour of vertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians and is important in regulating biorhythms)

Because of this, the light that shines from your smartphone as you scroll in bed can wreak havoc on your sleep cycle, making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. It can ruin sleep schedules and cause poor rest quality which ultimately leads to major health problems, physically and mentally.

The Effect of Blue Light Exposure to Your Brain

When your melatonin levels and sleep cycles are disrupted, you’ll experience more than just a distraction the next day – your memory can actually be impaired and your ability to learn will also be hindered. Not only that, but the longer your sleep is affected the harder it is to get a good night’s rest. Not getting enough sleep can actually lead to build up of a neurotoxin that actually prevents you from getting good sleep.

Researchers prove that people whose melatonin levels are continually suppressed by the smartphone’s blue light are more liable to depression.

How Blue Light Exposure Affects Your Body

Smartphones have the potential to ruin more than just your sleep – they can also destroy your sight. Regular, direct exposure to blue light can cause damage to our retinas. The AMDF (American Macular Degeneration Foundation) also warns that macular degeneration can be caused by the retinal damage initiated by blue light exposure, effectively causing you to lose the ability to see what’s literally right in front of you.

Researchers are now also looking into whether or not smartphone use contributes to the development of cataracts. Not only that, but the constant sleep disturbance and light at night use have been linked to higher cancer risk, particularly breast and prostate cancer. Melatonin also acts as an antioxidant and while more definitive research is required, researchers are pointing to “uninterrupted darkness” as potentially protective against cancer.

How to Break the Habit of Scrolling On Your Smartphone

There are better options to scrolling through your Facebook feed or uploading pictures to your instagram account or playing a round of Candy Crush right before you go to bed. Limiting our exposure at night is good for us.

Some simple ways to reduce your screen time before bed are:

Ø  Spending some quality time with your loved one, without any screens

Ø  Reading a book

Ø  Doing some bedtime yoga

Ø  Listening to relaxing music

If you really can’t resist the urge to check your phone, sometimes wearing blue light blocking glasses this can help counteract the effects.

But the less you check your phone before bed, the more you have a sound sleep.