Slashdot Mirror
Study Shows Technology May Inhibit Good Sleep
An anonymous reader points out a study by the National Sleep Foundation which looked at the relationship between sleep habits and the use of electronic communications tech in the hour before bedtime. Dr. Michael Grasidar of Flinders University said, "My research compares how technologies that are ‘passively received' such as TVs and music versus those with ‘interactive' properties like video games, cell phones and the Internet may affect the brain differently. The hypothesis is that the latter devices are more alerting and disrupt the sleep-onset process." The study found that people who frequently send text messages or use their laptops before bed were less likely to report getting a good night's sleep (PDF) than people who don't. "While these technologies are commonplace, it is clear that we have a lot more to learn about the appropriate use and design of this technology to complement good sleep habits," said the NSF's David Cloud.
And I'm reading Slashdot.
Case closed.
catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
The article refers to a poll, not an experiment. Could it be that those who have trouble sleeping are more likely to engage in interactive entertainment?
Personally, I very, very rarely have trouble sleeping. I usually find myself getting too tired for interactive entertainment about an hour before I want to sleep. I'd *love* to be able to continue playing video games up until lights out, but I just don't have the energy. Those who have lots of energy will keep playing/blogging/hacking.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
From other studies, I am certain the issue is the light emitted.
For sleeping, your brain expects dim, red light. Bright, blueish light (what typical lamps, LEDs and displays emit) wakes your brain up or keeps it awake. The effect of turning on the light when going to the bathroom is a shock to the brain that takes quite long (1 hour I believe) to recover from (getting back to sleep).
Good advice is to go to sleep early, and wake up early, to use dim red lights rather than blue lamps in the evening. Try it out and you'll feel more refreshed.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
Have sex, you idiot. That's the best thing to do before going to sleep.
I wonder if the advent of modern LED lighting will allow a programmed shift toward red lights in the evening and a shift from red to blue bias in the morning to allow gradual shutdown and awakening, rather than the shock of an alarm clock or bright lights.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
...listening to the radio than playing a video game.
Wow. Who'd a thunk it.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I have been using F.lux for about 3 months and I can say it makes a huge difference in my ability to get to sleep. I never had a problem sleeping, it was falling asleep that took me a while. Now, when I go to bed, I go to sleep within minutes. I don't have to be in the dark for half an hour - an hour before getting to sleep, unless my wife is feeling frisky, which is something I can't complain about (although probably not a problem for most /.'ers). Yes F.lux could be a placebo effect, but after three months I feel fairly certain it is the bright light from the monitor, not the actual game/application being used. I actually start yawning while playing a game/watching Hulu or ESPN, which would never happen before I installed F.lux. My old CRT television has never bothered me, as my wife likes to fall asleep to the tv, but the bright light of my laptop monitor is quite different from the light of our tv. I wonder if any of you guys have noticed a difference with CRT screens versus the new LED/LCD/plasma televisions? I assume they would be much brighter, at least for a new LED screen. I know the LED and LCD screes are brighter, but I remember reading it has something to do with the type of light, not just the brightness. Any feedback about the tv's?
Member of American Sarcasm Society - Motto: "Like we need your help!"
Then again, I did have one girlfriend who never let me live down the time I started snoring mid-sex, so -- yeah, you can really be too tired to have sex, but it's pretty rare.
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
Good job I have Porphyria because I don't even have a "Normal" sleep schedule, it's all over the map.
I don't work in an office (basically impossible with severe Porphyria), so people are always asking me when I sleep because I send business emails 24/7, and am lucky to get a 5 hour night (starting about 4 or 5 am).
Thank goodness for 24/7 Tech accessibility!
And one has to wonder if it's actually the technology or the person on the other end of the computer that's causing lost sleep. If I spend an hour before I go to bed dealing with work email (which at this hour is largely generated in Taiwan/China), I don't sleep well, only because those idiots are screwing up and this comes back to me.
Whereas in the pre-computer era I guess you left work at a reasonable hour and had some down-time before bed. Although I hesitate to guess that one filling my job in this era would have been up equally long identifying and requesting fixes to mistakes made overseas and sending them a long, angry memo, before driving home and sleeping.
So maybe the real cause of lost sleep is the blurring line between work life and personal life and/or the increasing productivity demands of a shitty economy and a lack of viable options for employees?
There's already an app you can get for Windows, Linux and OS X called F.lux which changes the colour temperate of your screen based on your time and location. http://stereopsis.com/flux/
Just installed it and my screen has a very strong yellowy-pinky tint as it is 2am.
catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
The only technology that's ever interfered with my sleep is my neighbour's sub-woofer.
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Tell your roommate to use headphones.
My boyfriend watches TV on his laptop to help him sleep, but he uses headphones so that my falling asleep isn't affected by it. I had to get used to the extra brightness, but that didn't take very long. I couldn't fall asleep at all, though, when he didn't use headphones.
i thought the military proved a long time ago that people only need 4 hours sleep every 25 hours... And that we are addicted to sleep (for a lack of media?)
For military, that highly likely true... You see, while in the army you are not suppose to think, only to react (at orders or at on how the tactical situation evolves)... with rest, the reflex-arcs recover much sooner than your central nervous system.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
I recall reading some years ago that it's preferable to watch television or listen to radio in the hour before sleep than to read a book or solve crossword puzzles, for similar reasons to those stated in the summary. It's a pity the poll didn't include more traditional "interactive" media as well.
I've had sleeping issues since high school about 10 years ago. Typically, I can't sleep until about 3 AM, and only get about 4 hours of solid rest. After that, I doze in and out of sleep for a couple hours.
I was in Africa for a bit, and regularly had no power - which meant no laptop. My sleep pattern improved drastically during those periods of time. However, the instant power was back I was using the laptop at night again. Immediately, the sleep issues returned. (Note that we did have a generator, so we still had lights and some appliances on when the power was out, but in general avoided turning anything unnecessary on unless we absolutely needed them, like computers).
I've reproduced the same behaviour in myself now that I'm in America. Cut out the laptop at night - start sleeping great in a few days. Re-introduce it: really, really rough week.
Get him to fuck you again and you should both sleep ok. If that doesn't work, repeat until you are both too exhausted to do it again.
Geez, kids these days...
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
OK, it's not the technology, it's the interactivity. The article makes that clear. I'm surprised that this is considered news, though. It's the reason I can sleep after cycling but not after fencing.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Crime and Punishment is a fantastic book.
If you want something to put you to sleep, try a math book (not saying math is uninteresting, merely that READING a math theory book is mind-numbing).
Happens exactly the opposite for me. With maths, I found myself trying to almost construct a visual interpretation behind the math theory. In regards with Crime and Punishment.... I reckon that my empathic abilities suck.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
>>And one has to wonder if it's actually the technology or the person on the other end of the computer that's causing lost sleep.
In 1991, scientists discovered a third type of photoreceptor to go along with the rods and cones we all learned about in elementary school. They were discovered in humans in 2007. They're called photosensitive ganglion cells:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosensitive_ganglion_cell
The kicker is that they detect light and directly wire into the parts of your brain controlling your circadian cycle. So when you're staring into your bright monitor all day and night, you're pushing back your circadian rhythm all the time, and DSPS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome