Is my iPad disrupting my sleep?

This article explains how an iPad can disrupt a person's sleep.

Using an iPad or other backlit electronic tablet in the hours before bedtime not only prevents you from falling asleep, it may also affect your alertness the next day, according to a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dec. 22, 2014. Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that the light emitted by the devices reset the body’s circadian clock, which synchronizes the daily rhythm of sleep to daylight. As a result, people reading e-books took longer to fall asleep and were less alert the next morning than when they read print books instead.

During the two-week study, 12 men and women read digital books on an iPad for four hours before bedtime each night for five consecutive nights. They also followed the same routine using printed books. When they read the iPad, participants were less sleepy before bedtime but were less alert the following morning, even after eight hours of sleep.

If you’re a bedtime reader who’s addicted to her iPad, don’t despair. The researchers used a 2010
iPad set at maximum brightness. Newer iPads and other e-readers have night-reading modes.

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Tips to beat insomnia

This article gives 10 tips to help you beat insomnia.

Insomnia is the inability to get enough sleep needed to wake up feeling refreshed and well-rested.  Millions of people are suffering from this sleeping disorder.   You can cure insomnia without the additional cost of medication with just little changes in your lifestyle.

1. What you drink and eat before bedtime are also factors that can induce insomnia.  Cut down on alcohol, and do not eat heavy meals before bedtime.  Stick to light snacks and chamomile tea.Cut the caffeine – caffeine is a stimulant.  Cut down on other drinks and foods that have caffeine also, like sodas, teas, and tiramisus.  Coffee should be drank in the morning or at least eight hours before sleep.
2. Keep a quite, dark, and cool bedroom – an uncomfortable sleeping area will not induce sleep. Noise, light, and heat interfere with sleep.
3. The bed is for sleeping and sex – train your brain and body that the bed is for sleeping and sex. Doing office work and reading in bed is a no-no.  The goal is to associate the bed with relaxation and sleep.  Avoid watching TV while lying down in bed, watching TV stimulates your brain to think.  It may make your eyes tired, but the brain is busy converting images to thoughts.  Better yet, transfer the TV to the living room.
4. Avoid naps – try hard not to get that super nap in the afternoon. Naps disrupts sleep at night.  If you really can’t avoid it, limit it to 30 minutes before 3 pm.
5. Quit Smoking – nicotine, like caffeine, is a stimulant. The more you smoke, the more awake you’ll be.  Aside from the hazards of smoking, quitting will do wonders on your sleeping habits.
6. Change the way you think about insomnia – self-defeating thoughts help fuel insomnia. Think positive.  Instead of thoughts like “It’s the same every night,  another night of misery’, think this way instead “This does not every nught, some nights I get enough rest.”  Don’t worry too much, quit this mental habit.
7. Do away with stressful situations before bedtime – avoid heated discussions, heavy mental activities, even strenious activities before bedtime. Try some relaxing activities instead, listening to soft music with keeping the lights low will help in relaxing the brain.
8. Ban Blue Light in the bedroom – Short waves from blue light interferes with sleep. Use devices that have blue light an hour before going to sleep.  This includes TV, cellphones, and digital clocks.
9. Fat or Flat – not the body types, this refers to pillows. The discomfort you give your necks affects the quality of sleep, aside from having a sore neck upon waking up.  Pillows should be just the right size.  Side sleepers should have their nose align with the center of the body while sleeping.  Stomach sleeping should be avoided as this cranes the neck.
10. Control your body clock – go to sleep and wake up around the same time daily, irregardless if its a holiday or a weekend the next day. Our bodies have biological clocks and it is light regulated.  Try getting a ray of sunshine the minute you wake up, for 5 to 30 minutes.

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Blue light can fight fatigue during the day

A study shows that blue light from phones and computers can alleviate fatigue throughout the day.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that exposure to short wavelength, or blue light, during the biological day directly and immediately improves alertness and performance. These findings are published in the February issue ofSleep.

"Our previous research has shown that blue light is able to improve alertness during the night, but our new data demonstrates that these effects also extend to daytime light exposure," said Shadab Rahman, PhD, a researcher in BWH's Division of Sleep Medicine and lead author of this study. "These findings demonstrate that prolonged blue light exposure during the day has an an alerting effect."

In order to determine which wavelengths of light were most effective in warding off fatigue, the BWH researchers teamed with George Brainard, PhD, a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University, who developed the specialized light equipment used in the study. Researchers compared the effects of blue light with exposure to an equal amount of green light on alertness and performance in 16 study participants for 6.5 hours over a day. Participants then rated how sleepy they felt, had their reaction times measured and wore electrodes to assess changes in brain activity patterns during the light exposure.

The researchers found that participants exposed to blue light consistently rated themselves as less sleepy, had quicker reaction times and fewer lapses of attention during the performance tests compared to those who were exposed to green light. They also showed changes in brain activity patterns that indicated a more alert state.

"These results contribute to our understanding of how light impacts the brain and open up a new range of possibilities for using light to improve human alertness, productivity and safety," explained Steven Lockley, PhD, neuroscientist at BWH and senior investigator of the study. "While helping to improve alertness in night workers has obvious safety benefits, day shift workers may also benefit from better quality lighting that would not only help them see better but also make them more alert."

Researchers note that the next big challenge is to figure out how to deliver better lighting. While natural light is ideal, many people do not have access to daylight in their schools, homes or work places. In addition to improvements in daylight access, the advent of new, more controllable lighting technologies may help enable researchers to develop 'smart' lighting systems designed to maximize the beneficial effects of light for human health, productivity and safety.

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