Research Shows That Sleep may Get Impacted by Media Use

Sleep is one of the naturally recurring state of mind and body, and sleep disorders are now on the high as the use of mobiles or televisions have been shown to affect sleep health.

Recent research has identified the ill effects of sleep disturbance of sleep disorders and how sleep is affected at night by media use - such as watching movies, television, or YouTube videos; browsing the Internet; or listening to music - before bed. This has been published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

‘Recent research has identified the ill effects of sleep disturbance of sleep disorders.’

In this study, 58 adults kept a diary, which they had to record information about time spent with the media, place of use, and multitasking before bed. Electroencephalography - tests that detect the electrical activity of the brain using small metal disks attached to the scalp - captured parameters such as bed time, total sleep time, and quality of sleep.

Using the media one hour before bed time is associated with earlier bedtime. If bed prepping does not involve multitasking and if conducted in bed, it is associated with a higher total sleep time. Prolonged use of media is directly influencing with post-sleep and shorter total sleep time. The quality of sleep was not affected by the use of media before bed.

"If you are going to use media, like watching TV or listening to music, before bed, keep it a short, focused session and you are unlikely to experience any negative outcomes in your sleep that night," said lead author Morgan Ellithorpe, PhD, of the University of Delaware.

Source: Medindia