Read tablet before bedtime morning affects the state of alert – The Nation Costa Rica

El Mercurio, Chile

as shown by a study from the University of Texas Southwestern, which analyzed the sleep-wake pattern 12 people for five days in a row should read, for four hours on a tablet that emitted light.

For comparison, the experiment was repeated with the same people five nights reading a printed book. In both cases, the reading was done in an environment with dim light, going off at 10 p. m., to be awakened at 6 a. m.

The subjects were taken blood samples at different times to measure their levels of melatonin, a hormone whose secretion induces sleep.

Jet Lag. The researchers noted that the fifth day reading on electronic devices during the night, the evening melatonin levels volunteers had been suppressed by 55%, compared to when read printed books.

In addition, the night after having read these devices secretion of this hormone began an hour and a half later, thus delaying the circadian clock.

This made it feel less sleep in the hour prior to bedtime and turn off the light will take 25 minutes to fall asleep, compared 15 minutes when reading the printed book.

“Whereas we need to sleep between 7 and 9 hours, a delay of 1.5 hours is significant. It implies that when sleep comes later and, therefore, less time is achieved REM sleep, which is the most restful sleep, “says neurologist Evelyn Benavides, a specialist in sleep medicine of Vespucci Clinic.

Dr. Leonardo Serra, a neurologist at the Sleep Disorders Center of the German Clinic, adds that “REM sleep is concentrated in the last hours of the night, so sleep less sacrifice this sleep phase, which has much to do with mental repair and memory. “

The study also showed that the effects of prolonged reading tablets in the morning. The subjects reported more drowsiness than in the previous night and perceived that it took them hours to feel fully awake and achieve the same level of alert you when they read a printed book authors, despite having slept the same number of hours, say in an article published yesterday in the journal PNAS, Academy of Sciences of EE.UU.Culpan of these effects to blue light spectrum emitted shortwave screens tablets and other electronic devices such as cell phones or laptops.

“Within the spectrum of light, the blue is the most potently inhibits the secretion of melatonin,” says Dr. Serra. “To this he adds that working with these screens you have them closer to the eyes, which increases their impact.”

The authors caution that the acute response of volunteers imply that “could have long-term consequences for the greater health than those considered so far” .For not interfere with sleep, suggests Dr. Benavides off screens at least a half hour before going to bed and in the bedroom, using light warm (yellow) and vials of no more than 40 watts.

Teenagers are most vulnerable. Because children and adolescents are users more intensive electronic devices, neurologists are its greatest vulnerability. In them, the activation produced not only due to the light-emitting displays, but also psychological, because they tend to be chatting or connected with others, says Dr. Serra.

Since your brain connections are developing, “the sooner disorders schedules are made, the greater its impact, especially considering that adolescents should sleep between 9 and 10 hours a day. ” In your case, the “create a debt of major sleep inhibits the secretion of growth hormone, is associated with increased risk of obesity and insulin resistance, causes irritability and reduced concentration, among other disorders,” says Serra.