If you like to read, you probably get a great deal of pleasure spending a few hours with a good book or magazine before bedtime. It's a great way to clear your mind, soothe your nerves and prepare for a good night's sleep.
But if you've traded in your hard copy reading materials for an e-reader, you might not be getting the same results. In fact, chances are good you're not getting enough deep sleep and probably waking up groggier in the morning.
It turns out using light-emitting e-readers like Kindle Fire, Nook Color, iPad and iPhone before bedtime increases alertness. So it takes you longer to fall asleep at night. This sets off a cascade of events that delays your circadian rhythm and suppresses production of melatonin.
Here's how it works.
Your body has a "master clock” that controls your circadian rhythm. This is a group of nerve cells in an area of the brain that's just above the optic nerves. When the optic nerves sense less light, they send a signal to the master clock to tell the brain to make more melatonin so you can get sleepy. The blue light from e-readers prevents this signaling from happening.
This explains why light-emitting devices keep you awake longer at night. It also shows us how these same devices can negatively impact both your circadian rhythm and melatonin levels which, in turn, affect your ability to fall asleep and stay that way.
Unfortunately, abnormal circadian rhythms and poor sleeping patterns are associated with a lot of health problems. If you're using a brightly lit e-reader for your nighttime reading, here are just a few conditions you may be promoting.
If you're not getting a full seven or eight hours of quality sleep each night, it can lead to much more than fuzzy thinking. It can have a huge impact on your long-term health. In fact, it can contribute to many chronic diseases associated with aging.
Here are just some of the complications associated with poor sleeping patterns…
Shortened telomeres: Sleeping less than five hours a night is associated with shortened telomeres. This opens you up to an increased risk of many health issues. This includes heart disease, cancer, dementia and chronic inflammation. Shorter telomeres are also linked to a reduced lifespan. Longer telomeres, on the other hand, are associated with robust health and a longer lifetime.
Chronic inflammation: Sleeping less than six hours a night can result in higher levels of three inflammatory markers. These include fibrinogen, IL-6 and C-reactive protein. Each of these compounds has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer's and other inflammatory diseases. Chronic inflammation also shortens telomeres.
Heart disease: People who get less than five hours of sleep a night are twice as likely to have high blood pressure and cholesterol compared to those who get seven or eight hours of sleep a night. They're also more likely to experience a heart attack or stroke.
Alzheimer's disease: The less sleep older people get, the more chances they have of developing age-related brain atrophy, beta amyloid deposits and cognitive decline. All of these increase your chances of developing Alzheimer's.
Diabetes: If you don't get enough sleep, it can have an impact on your glucose metabolism and insulin response. All in all, it could increase your risk of diabetes by about 75%.
Weight gain: While you sleep, chemicals and hormones that help control appetite are released. If you're not sleeping soundly, those chemical messengers and hormones are disrupted, which can cause you to gain weight. Getting a good night's sleep on a routine basis, however, may support a healthy weight.
Let's take a look at what you can do to re-set your circadian rhythm and boost your melatonin levels so you can get the sleep you need and help nip these health threats in the bud.
To be cont'd.
Have a great day.
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