Sleep in teenagers can be improved by just one week of limiting their evening exposure to light-emitting screens on phones, tablets and computers, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019.
The study indicates that by simply limiting their exposure to blue-light emitting devices in the evening, adolescents can improve their sleep quality and reduce symptoms of fatigue, lack of concentration and bad mood, after just one week.Recent studies have indicated that exposure to too much evening
light, particularly the
blue light emitted from screens on smartphones, tablets and computers can affect the brain's clock and the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, resulting in disrupted
sleep time and quality. The lack of sleep doesn't just cause immediate symptoms of tiredness and poor concentration but can also increase the risk of more serious long-term health issues such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Other studies have suggested that
sleep deprivation related to
screen time may affect children and adolescents more than adults, but no studies have fully investigated how real-life exposure is affecting sleep in adolescents at home and whether it can be reversed.
Comment: With the cost of pharmaceuticals going through the roof, perhaps more and more people will turn to alternative methods of healing. There's an entire world of healing modalities outside the mainstream pharmaceutical paradigm that can be highly effective. But it's important for all to do their due diligence on researching proper treatment protocols.
See also: