Screen time before sleep time is a problem. I’m noticing more and more patients are reporting difficulty sleeping or getting to sleep, and commonly when I enquire further they are looking at screens (televisions, smartphones,i-pads,tablets) before bedtime.

Intuitively I think most people realize that it must be bad for your sleep in some way – but most continue with their habits.

In a nutshell – it does disrupt your ability to fall asleep and your quality of sleep.

The blue light emitted by these devices decreases the amount of melatonin released ( which peaks at bedtime) and will affect your quality of sleep ( more scientifically your deep REM sleep). I have recently realized that I have been looking at my phone more frequently before bedtime – and my quality of sleep has been disrupted. Switch your phone off, charge it elsewhere. If you need to have it in your bedroom, charge it far away from where you sleep to decrease the temptation.

Everyone is affected by these changes in the brain from using devices, but I suspect those with mood disorders will be more acutely affected. Please try to remove these distractions from the bedroom -before reaching for something to help you sleep!

Related links 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/12/22/ipads-tablets-smartphones-disrupt-good-sleep-study-finds/

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/unplug-please/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615302458

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26688552