Sleep vs Screen: Navigating Your Wellness

The digital era brought numerous advancements in all the fields, effectively making smartphone devices a necessity for all including children. More younger children have access to the internet and social media platforms today than ever before. The rise of digital gadgets, remote opportunities, online learning, social media and streaming services have all contributed to an increase in our screen time. People are using screens more often because our dependency on technology for every field including study, work, communication, and pleasure is increasing everyday. However, this technological revolution has also been accompanied by various health consequences. This article aims to shed light onto the impact of screen time on our sleep and its ill effects on our health.

Sleep is the third primary need for humans, following hunger and thirst. Yet, it is often neglected by many who undermine its necessity. Proper sleep is crucial for overall health and well-being, especially in the earlier ages. However, the amount of sleep required by us also changes.

Age	Sleep Requirement
4 to 12 months	12 to 16 hours
1 to 2 years	11 to 14 hours a day
3 to 5 years	10 to 13 hours a day
6 to 12 years	9 to 12 hours a day
13 to 18 years	8 to 10 hours a day
Adults	7 or more hours a night

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/how-many-hours-of-sleep-are-enough/faq-20057898

Sleep plays a fundamental role in physical and mental development. Sleep helps us regulate mood, manage stress levels and reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. It also enhances behavioral functions, attention, and academic performance.

What is Good Sleep?

A healthy sleep consists of various components. A sleep cycle consists of NREM or Non Rapid Eye Movement (stages 1-3) and REM or Rapid Eye Movement (stage 4) sleep. These stages do not progress in succession but rather there is a back and forth throughout the night. The last two stages are vital for development. In stage 3, the brain processes memories and life events from the day while also repairing tissues and regenerating cells. The last stage is involved in emotional processing and learning. A complete sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes long.

Stage of Sleep	Description	Characteristics
NREM Stage N1	Transition from wakefulness to sleep. Lightest stage of sleep.	- Slow, rolling eye movements - Heartbeat and breathing slow down - Muscles begin to relax - Low amplitude mixed frequencies waves in the theta range (4 to 7 Hz)
NREM Stage N2	Light sleep before entering deep sleep. Largest percentage of total sleep time.	- Heartbeat and breathing slow down further - No eye movements - Body temperature drops - Sleep spindles and K-complexes appear
NREM Stage N3	Deepest sleep stage, also known as slow-wave or delta sleep.	- Arousal from sleep is difficult- Heartbeat and breathing at their slowest- No eye movements- Body fully relaxed- Delta brain waves present- Tissue repair and growth- Cell regeneration- Immune system strengthens
REM Stage R	Primary dreaming stage of sleep. Occurs roughly 90 minutes after falling asleep.	- Rapid eye movements during phasic REM - Breathing and heart rate increase and become more variable - Muscles are paralyzed, but twitches may occur<br- Brain activity markedly increased - First cycle lasts roughly 10 minutes, with later cycles lasting 30-60 minutes

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/stages-of-sleep#stages-of-sleep

For a good sleep, this cycle must be completed properly several times throughout the night. It should allow you to naturally wake up, feel rested, and have the most energy possible all day. It is also important that you sleep throughout the night without any awakenings, otherwise the sleep stages will get interrupted and the optimal results from the sleep cycle will not be achieved.

Impact of Blue Light from the Screen

Our smart gadgets emit a form of visible light termed as blue light. Like other forms, it is also simply light with the sun being its biggest source of it. It is part of the visible light spectrum and can be picked up by the human eye. Vibrating between 380-500 nanometers, it has the shortest wavelength and highest energy. However, the concern is for the artificial blue light emitted by our electronic devices and its exposure especially over a long period of time.

The blue light received from the sunlight does not have a harmful effect, rather, it can regulate our circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle), increase alertness and elevate mood. But the long term exposure can become harmful. This is particularly true when it applies to excessive screen time and placing screens too near to the eyes. Almost all visible blue light travels through the cornea and lens at the front of the eye before reaching the retina because blue light is not naturally blocked by the eyes. Constant exposure to blue light over an extended period of time can lead to growths on the sclera, cataract development, eye cancer, and damage to retinal cells causing visual difficulties such as age-related macular degeneration. Thus, one must maintain a low screen time.

Screen time is the amount of time spent on a device with a screen such as a smartphone, laptop, television, gaming console etc. A person’s screen time includes the collective amount of time spent on all the devices.

You can also check your own screentime through the following ways:

For an android smartphone by going to-

Settings > Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls

For an iPhone- Settings > Screen Time

Consequences of Blue Light on Sleep

Melatonin is the hormone that is responsible for the sleep-wake cycle in humans. Blue light is harmful because it alters when our bodies produce melatonin. Typically, melatonin is released at nightfall, as the sun sets. Darkness signals the brain to release melatonin which makes us drowsy, indicating that it is time to go to bed. Since our gadgets emit blue light, even late into the night, the brain confuses it with daytime. Melatonin is not released; signals for attention and alertness are sent by the brain. Henceforth, we do not fall sleepy and keep using the devices for long periods in the night.

This leads to having a bad night’s rest. The immediate consequences of having poor sleep includes fatigue, mood changes, concentration problems, lower productivity and decreased immune functioning. Having poor quality of sleep over a long period of time can manifest these issues into major health illnesses. The disruption of the circadian rhythm is linked to the emergence of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, insomnia and cognitive impairments, hormonal imbalance and even reduced life expectancy. Research also indicates that higher screen times are associated with poor sleep quality, feeling fatigued, daytime drowsiness and more awakenings in the night. Sleep deprivation which is the direct result of increased screen time, goes on to further contribute to a host of health issues.

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Harmful Effects of Screen Time on Children

Obesity: The more time spent watching TV and videos, the greater risk of becoming overweight. This may also be promoted by the advertisements for junk food and the child may also overeat while sitting for long periods of time.

Vision Impairment: More and more children are being diagnosed with myopia (nearsightedness) and require corrective lenses. Prolonged use of electronics also leads to eye strain, dryness and discomfort.

Poor Academic Performance: Due to the huge amounts of time spent on digital gadgets, education often gets neglected. Around the world, teachers are sharing their concerns about the academic performance of the newer generation students and how it is suffering due to children having access to smartphone devices.

Behavioural Problems: Electronic gadgets tend to isolate the children in their crucial developmental years, as a result, they are more likely to have psychosocial and attention-related problems.

Violence & Aggression: Constant exposure to violence and aggressive behaviour on screen can desensitize children to it. They learn to accept violence and mimic similar behaviour as a way to solve problems.

Developmental Difficulties: Studies suggest that early childhood exposure to multimedia, specifically for long periods of time, negatively affects sensorimotor development, executive functioning along with speech and language learning.

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How to Reduce Your Screen Time

When excessive screen time is affecting our health in so many ways, it becomes crucial to safeguard oneself from the negative impacts. There are several steps one can implement to reduce their screen time:

Set Time Limits: Set specific and achievable time limit goals according to your lifestyle requirements. Especially for children, their screen time must be limited to less than 3 hours a day.

Screen Time Management Tools: Utilize technology in your favor by taking help from various programs and applications that restrict the user’s screen time through features such as an AppLocker.

Frequent Breaks: Taking regular breaks is the most effective way to avoid eye strain, especially if your work or school requires the use of screens.

Physical Activity: While taking breaks you can also move around and stretch to include some movement which can prevent muscle and back problems.

Sleep Hygiene: Prioritize having a good sleep schedule by following rules of sleep hygiene, which includes turning off any devices at least an hour before going to bed.