Have you ever felt that you just don't get enough sleep at night? Or have you developed a habit of using electronic devices late at night prior to sleep and then wake up tired or late in the day? This video explores the reasons why. Sleep is one of the most important components of human life, and without it, our normal everyday functions would be diminished. Over 90% of Americans use some type of electronics at least a few nights per week within 1 hour before bedtime. Through the growing use of electronic devices, the number of hours people sleep has been reduced, and the increased use of electronic devices right before bedtime has a more severe impact on our circadian timing. This video demonstrates the disruptive effects of using electronic or artificial lighting on sleep and normal human bodily functions. It also highlights the scientific and clinical research of the exact mechanisms of how sleep is disrupted by artificial light sources such as those from our electronic devices. Finally, this video demonstrates some of the preventative measures that could be built into electronic devices to limit the artificial blue light emitted in order to improve the quality of sleep.
This video was made by 4DM3 students Alysha Gillis, Harris Joseph, Paul Rooprai and Yilin Zhang.
Copyright McMaster University 2017
References:
Chang, A. M., Aeschbach, D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(4), 1232-1237.
Gooley, J. J., Chamberlain, K., Smith, K. A., Khalsa, S. B. S., Rajaratnam, S. M., Van Reen, E., ... & Lockley, S. W. (2010). Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 96(3), E463-E472.
