Did you know that your nighttime screen time can be the reason for your daytime sleepiness and fatigue? Researchers found that screen time can cause sleeping problems in many people, particularly teens and adolescents. Over time they develop certain sleeping disorders and health issues. So, it becomes particularly important that we manage our screen time to maintain good sleeping habits. Learn how screen time affects your sleep. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.

How does screen time affect sleep?

Experts found there are many ways to screen time on devices like smartphones, laptops, and T.V. negatively affect your sleep and make you feel fatigued during the day. It includes:

1. It increases the blue light exposure:

Usually, these devices emit blue light which can suppress melatonin production, a hormone that regulates sleep. While it is advantageous during the day because it keeps you feeling alert and refreshed. However, melatonin released in the evening can help you relax before bedtime and make you sleep. Suppressing it with screen time can make you sleep less than you normally would.

2. It affects your mood:

Social media not only leads to overstimulation but also to depression and anxiety. It happens because everyone is showing the best to the world, which makes you feel like you are left behind in the race for luxury and fame.

3. It over-stimulates the brain:

Certain types of content, especially memes, and news, can make a stronger impact on sleep. Endless scrolling and enjoyable short content give us instant gratification which can produce happy hormones in the body which keep your mind active and make it harder to fall asleep.

4. It makes you stay awake for longer periods:

The digital world is created in a way that catches your attention and keeps you engaged. You may say it’s the last video but after that you scroll you find something else more compelling than the last one and then this process goes on. Until you realize that you spend a lot of time on those videos rather than getting the sleep that your body needs, which impacts your mental and physical health.

5. It can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle:

Our body has a natural sleep-wake rhythm which is known as circadian rhythm. It’s your body’s system that wakes you up and sleeps at night. However, when your screen time is at night, especially before sleep, it disrupts this cycle which can lead to insomnia.

Studies found that smartphone use can decrease both sleep duration and quality. The same applies to TVs and laptops. It happens because blue light gives signals to your brain that it’s not sleep time and the content, we watch is continuously processed by the brain which makes us not fall asleep. That’s why we need to close all the lights in the room to make it dark so that our brain understands it’s night and we have to sleep.

Studies also found that screen time before bed not only decreases your sleep quality but also affects your attentiveness the following day. In the long term, this type of light exposure in the evening may increase your risk of certain sleep disorders and cancers.

That’s why your sleep quality is not only decreased but severely damaged by screen time which increases the risk of sleep disorders and other health problems. So, you should take the necessary steps to reduce screen time and create good sleeping habits.

If you’re experiencing sleeping issues that you can’t handle, then visit our mental health clinic in Brooklyn. Our mental health professionals make sure you get the right treatment on time so that you won’t suffer from any mental health problems.

“Your mental health is the key to a good life, don’t let problems affect them.” Call us on +1-347-384-5690 to get a consultation. We have some of the finest experienced psychiatrist doctors who listen to your concerns, examine your symptoms, and create a treatment plan to improve your condition as soon as possible. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralw.org. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.