With our smartphones, smartwatches, tabs, and whatnot we’re always just a click away from being linked to the rest of the outside world but here’s the bad news - being glued to your smart devices becomes an everyday habit and it slowly turns into an addiction that you can’t say no to. Almost every smartphone user complains about being sleep deprived. Why? Because “these people are exposing their eyes to streams of photons from these objects that basically tell your brain to stay awake - it’s not time to go to bed yet,” says Dr Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) School of Medicine. These photons signal your brain not to secrete melatonin.
What are sleep and awake hormones? Let’s just break it down a little more. When it’s bright, your brain releases the awake hormones also known as cortisol and suppresses the release of sleep hormones called melatonin. When it’s dark, it does exactly the opposite. When cortisol is released, your brain is wired in such a way that you feel the urge to get up and get moving.
Why do we need sleep? Sleep allows brain to rejuvenate and reorganise. Studies on rats prove that sleep deprivation can even lead to death. And you can die faster from sleep deprivation than food deprivation.
What happens without it? Except for only a small percentage of people, who are genetically different and don’t need that much of sleep, the rest of us need to snooze for at least seven to nine hours on a day to day basis.
When you go on for days without sleeping properly, your tension will be faltered, memory impaired, and your ability to process and organise information will be challenged. In addition to all these, “The insulin responsible to regulate your metabolism will be messed up, so you will be more likely to gain weight from what you eat and you’ll eat more,” adds Siegel.
What you need to do? You know the drill. Cut the cord and go cold turkey. Chuck that smartphone out of your bed at least an hour before you hit the hay. Shut it off or keep it in a drawer with its ringer turned off. The same stands for other tabs and gadgets. Basically any electronic devices that have got you hooked.
Now you know what gets in the way when you’re trying to score some shut-eye and you know what to do.