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Your Computer Or iPad Could Be Disrupting Sleep

Posted by kdawson on from the bright-idea dept.

Crash McBang sends in a CNN report on electronics and sleeplessness and asks, "So, what do Slashdotters do to get a good night's rest?" "More than ever, consumer electronics — particularly laptops, smartphones, and Apple's new iPad — are shining bright light into our eyes until just moments before we doze off. Now there's growing concern that these glowing gadgets may actually fool our brains into thinking it's daytime. Exposure can disturb sleep patterns and exacerbate insomnia, some sleep researchers said in interviews. ... Unlike paper books or e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, which does not emit its own light, the iPad's screen shines light directly into the reader's eyes from a relatively close distance. That makes the iPad and laptops more likely to disrupt sleep patterns than, say, a television sitting across the bedroom or a lamp that illuminates a paper book, both of which shoot far less light straight into the eye, researchers said."

24 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. Simple fix by sopssa · · Score: 5, Funny

    "So, what do Slashdotters do to get a good night's rest?"

    If you get a girlfriend she will put all those computer things away at night. You also get to have sex and cuddle and spoon her, making it really easy to fall a sleep. It's the easiest and simplest fix.

    1. Re:Simple fix by mce · · Score: 5, Funny

      Easy & simple, you say? It shows that you don't have a girlfriend... ;-)

      --
      Linux user since early January 1992.
    2. Re:Simple fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      In all fairness, they hardly get any with one of the same sex either. Self service doesn't count.

    3. Re:Simple fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must be new here.

    4. Re:Simple fix by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, and blowing her up before getting into bed every night wears you out.

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      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    5. Re:Simple fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Q: What's the difference between a fake girlfriend and a real girlfriend?
      A: Your blow the fake one, the real one blows you.

    6. Re:Simple fix by blai · · Score: 2, Funny

      What's that? We don't have that in America.

      --
      In soviet Russia, God creates you!
    7. Re:Simple fix by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 3, Funny

      Of course: she is.

      --
      Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
      altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
    8. Re:Simple fix by BatGnat · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend...My wife wont let me? :(

    9. Re:Simple fix by Jurily · · Score: 2, Funny

      Even roaches have kids.

    10. Re:Simple fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      And if you get married, you get to have sex all the time!

    11. Re:Simple fix by trapnest · · Score: 2, Funny

      Thanks, slashdot just made me feel bad about being single.

    12. Re:Simple fix by node+3 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I swear every time my wife and i get it on, the computer wakes up, brightly lighting the room

      Well, maybe you'll think twice next time before stealing a Pennsylvanian school kid's MacBook!

    13. Re:Simple fix by tattood · · Score: 2, Funny

      Here you go.

      --
      WTB [sig], PST!!!
  2. iPhone by balsy2001 · · Score: 4, Funny

    My iPhone disrupts my sleep every day. It's my alarm clock.

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    GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
    1. Re:iPhone by correnos · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yeah, the best way of managing sleep patterns is getting a job where your policy can be "I sleep when I wanna sleep and I get up when I f***ing wanna get up!"

  3. hmm by girlintraining · · Score: 1, Funny

    Wait, a device that buzzes, beeps, has whirring fans that spin at several thousand RPM, harddrives, printers, and sometimes entire home entertainment systems connected to them... could disturb sleep? I have to disagree. I've fallen asleep on my keyboard numerous times, and the newer models don't beep when the keyboard buffer gets filled. It's a disappointing feature, really -- it means about once a month, the first hour of my waking life has QWEASDFZXCV written on the side of my face.

    I think the real issue here is that keyboards aren't comfortable to sleep on.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  4. That explains it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    And here I was blaming the four pack of Red Bull I just downed.

  5. I sleep like a baby by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny

    Waking up screaming and shitting in my pants every couple of hours.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  6. Naturally by Arancaytar · · Score: 2, Funny

    Of course my computer disrupts my sleep.

    While I'm using it.

  7. yet another xkcd pun by questionsaddict · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://xkcd.com/333/ ftw

  8. Re:Bright Blue LED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Replying to myself again, I'm a real fucking idiot.

  9. Re:f.lux by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 2, Funny

    the White Sox are playing a day game in May when the games don't mean anything and you make it through the second inning and the next thing you know, you're dreaming [...]

    Or you could just do what I did: move to San Diego, become a Padres fan and have the games mean nothing the entire season.

    Just think of all the extra sleep you could get.

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  10. Re:f.lux by BillX · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow! Impressive. I thought it was only supposed to work on humans. :-)

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