'Bedtime mode' on smartphones would mean we'd all get an extra hour's sleep

18.11.2015 22:31

The light that smartphones, tablets and e-readers emit is harming our sleep and these devices should be equipped with a filter that can be used at night, a leading sleep expert has said.

Professor Paul Gringras from London's Evelina Children's Hospital says the trend for manufacturers to make gadgets bigger and brighter is harming our sleep patterns and could have a huge impact on our overall health.

The body starts to produce melatonin as it gets darker in the evening, which helps gets the body ready for sleep.

However certain wavelengths of light that gadgets emit tend toward the blue-green end of the spectrum and can disrupt this melatonin-producing system.

With less melatonin, there is less chance of falling asleep easily.

In a study he was part of, published in the magazine Frontiers in Public Health, Professor Gringras concluded that manufacturers need to design gadgets that shifts blue and green light emissions to yellow and red.

He told the BBC that manufacturers need to show more 'responsibility'.

'There is converging data to say if you are in front of one of these devices at night-time it could prevent you falling asleep by an extra hour.

'It's not good enough to say do less and accept this is the world we live in, they're fun devices but we do need some protection on what they do at night-time.'

The study concluded that there needs to be the recognition that at night-time 'brighter and bluer' is not synonymous with 'better'.

(dailymail.co.uk)

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