Reading is a leisurely activity and most people get time to read only at bedtime. Switching off the television and reading a few chapters before sleeping can be very relaxing and help you fall asleep. However, this old tried and tested formula does not hold true with many of the new electronic devices. Reading an ebook before going to sleep on these devices can actually harm your sleeping patterns and leave you exhausted the next morning.
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The study was conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Brigham’s and Women’s Hospital in Boston included a two-week inpatient analysis. During the study, twelve volunteers read ebooks on iPad for four hours before going to bed. The same routine was conducted with printed book with another group of volunteers. The group reading iPad,
- Took more time to fall asleep
- Were less sleepy at night
- Experienced shorter REM Sleep
- Showed lower levels of melatonin – a hormone that is released after dark and helps us fall asleep
- Showed high alertness at bedtime, but were sleepy the next morning
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Keeping your device brightness to a minimum should help you minimize some of the ill effects of ereaders. You can always switch to a paper book at night and keep ereaders for day use or while traveling. Until we find what the long-term effects of heavy use of these devices could mean, it is best to observe what works and does not work for us and adjust our reading habits.
According to Anne-Marie Chang, an associate neuroscientist in BWH’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, light emitting devices influence our sleep patterns. Use of ereaders and other similar illuminating devices such a tabs and smart phones affect our alertness and delay falling into sleep.