Smartphones are becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life. But the question remains of what effect their frequent use has on the quality of sleep. Poor sleep is associated with health disorders such as obesity, diabetes and depression. A study by Matthew Christensen and his colleagues at the University of California (San Francisco, USA) showed that the use of smartphones with the screen on reduces the quality of sleep.
To test the hypothesis that an increase in screen time using a smartphone leads to a decrease in the quality of sleep, Christensen and his colleagues conducted a test. The test analyzed data from 653 adults.
The study participants installed an application on their smartphones that took into account the operating time with the device when the screen was on, defined as the number of minutes of each hour during which the device screen was turned on. The test lasted 30 days, during which study participants also recorded the hours of their sleep and its quality.
The study found that on average during this period, 38.4 hours of screen time was used per smartphone. That is, the smartphone screen was activated on average 3.7 minutes per hour. The higher the average screen time of using a smart phone was, the lower was the quality of sleep and its duration. This was especially noted when using the smartphone before bedtime.
However, despite the quite expected conclusions that were obtained during the study, there are certain limitations, including the fact that the participants reported the data independently. Therefore, there is no certainty that the quality of sleep worsens exactly the increase in the time for working with the screen. It is possible that the results of this study are an additional confirmation of the theory that the quality of sleep is adversely affected by the use of a smartphone at bedtime.
Previously, researchers have suggested that daylight can help to combine the Internet at night and a healthy sleep. It is also not excluded that not only the fact of using a smartphone can have an effect on sleep disorder, but also the emotions that a person experiences before bedtime, which prevent the body from resting properly.
However, in any case, it is necessary to remember that digital devices that provide constant access to the Internet and its services are massively present in the life of mankind for only a few years. In this short period, it was simply not possible to accumulate a sufficient amount of data in order to state with any significant degree of certainty what kind of influence smartphones have on certain aspects of human health.
How do you think it is necessary to use a smartphone so that it does not reduce the quality or duration of sleep?
Based on sciencedaily.com
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