We see people reading from ebook tablets on the subway, in coffee shops, everywhere we go.
However, those using an ebook tablet to read in the dark before bedtime may be at a disadvantage.
A new study reportedly suggests that reading light-emitting tablets or electronic reading devices before bedtime made it harder for readers to fall asleep and led to lower quality of sleep as well as less alertness the next morning compared to those who read printed books, according to the website Shropshirestar.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston reportedly stated that reading digital books could perpetuate sleep deficiency and disrupt circadian rhythms, which refers to the body’s sleep and wake cycle.
For the study, which was published online Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a dozen people reportedly checked into the sleep lab at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and stayed for two weeks. Each person reportedly spent five consecutive evenings reading a book for four hours under reflected light and five evenings viewing an iPad for the same duration, according to SF Gate.
All participants reportedly had a mandatory bedtime of 10pm and a 6am wake-up time.
Blood tests reportedly showed that those who read form the computer tablet had suppressed evening levels of melatonin and on the next day, the increase in that hormone occurred 90 minutes later, which is an indication of a shift in their body’s circadian cycle. The participants who used ebook tablets reportedly took 10 minutes longer to fall asleep and had nearly 12 minutes less rapid-eye movement sleep, according to the study.
“If you’re in a home environment and you’re reading on a light-emitted device and you’re not feeling sleepy, chances are you’re not going to stop and go to sleep at the time that you’re supposed to,” stated Anna-Marie Chang, a biobehavioral health expert from Penn State University.
Those who used e-readers also reportedly described themselves as more sleepy the morning after.
“We really didn’t anticipate it would have an effect the following morning, especially after an eight-hour opportunity— and the study subjects slept the same amount of time,” stated Chang.
