Study Shows Technology May Inhibit Good Sleep 155
An anonymous reader points out a study by the National Sleep Foundation which looked at the relationship between sleep habits and the use of electronic communications tech in the hour before bedtime. Dr. Michael Grasidar of Flinders University said, "My research compares how technologies that are ‘passively received' such as TVs and music versus those with ‘interactive' properties like video games, cell phones and the Internet may affect the brain differently. The hypothesis is that the latter devices are more alerting and disrupt the sleep-onset process." The study found that people who frequently send text messages or use their laptops before bed were less likely to report getting a good night's sleep (PDF) than people who don't. "While these technologies are commonplace, it is clear that we have a lot more to learn about the appropriate use and design of this technology to complement good sleep habits," said the NSF's David Cloud.
It's not my fault! (Score:1)
I blame Hulu and Netflix.
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Which to some people, radio/tv/hulutube playing in the background helps people sleep.
Which for me sucks, because my roommate does this and I need silence :(
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Tell your roommate to use headphones.
My boyfriend watches TV on his laptop to help him sleep, but he uses headphones so that my falling asleep isn't affected by it. I had to get used to the extra brightness, but that didn't take very long. I couldn't fall asleep at all, though, when he didn't use headphones.
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I can't find citation, but i remember a peer reviewed article about how even dim lights (e.g. street light through curtains) affect quality of sleep even though they don't wake you up...
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Headphones
TV
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Headphones
Laptop
> implying on slashdot
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Get him to fuck you again and you should both sleep ok. If that doesn't work, repeat until you are both too exhausted to do it again.
Geez, kids these days...
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Re:It's not my fault! (Score:5, Interesting)
And one has to wonder if it's actually the technology or the person on the other end of the computer that's causing lost sleep. If I spend an hour before I go to bed dealing with work email (which at this hour is largely generated in Taiwan/China), I don't sleep well, only because those idiots are screwing up and this comes back to me.
Whereas in the pre-computer era I guess you left work at a reasonable hour and had some down-time before bed. Although I hesitate to guess that one filling my job in this era would have been up equally long identifying and requesting fixes to mistakes made overseas and sending them a long, angry memo, before driving home and sleeping.
So maybe the real cause of lost sleep is the blurring line between work life and personal life and/or the increasing productivity demands of a shitty economy and a lack of viable options for employees?
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Hunter/gatherers on the African savannah no doubt slept like babies, on the nights they didn't get eaten by a leopard.
I imagine it would have been more the other way around.
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Ah yes, back when babies slept like hunter-gatherers .... ;)
I think you're right, though. I know that I am normally a ROCK when it comes to sleeping, but if my baby made weird noises or screamed or I heard Really Weird Shit, I was up in a snap. It was surreal.
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I deliberately make sure I do not do any work after 8 PM unless there is an emergency (READ: Something had better be on fire) for this very reason.
But I've taken to reading before trying to sleep of late, I read for 1 to 3 hours yet I'm having a harder time sleeping then when I spent the same time reading
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I'm pretty sure it's based on how engaged your brain is. Reading is probably using your imagination and all the bits of your brain associated with understanding real-world situation, whereas if you're playing some kind of clickfest like bejewelled or diablo (or, dare I say it, WoW) most of your brain can get on with shutting down for the night.
On the flipside, if I'm trying to get over jet lag or need to stay awake for some other reason nothing beats a good game of Civ - that'll keep my brain spinning for 4
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I'm doubtful of the entire premise; I've seen no evidence of this irl. What's the difference between a cell phone conversation before bed, and a landline conversation? We've had phones for a hundred years. What's the difference between Hulu and the old black and white TV we had as kids? What's the difference between a web page and a book? People have been reading themselves to sleep for centuries. This study sounds less believable than tabletop cold fusion.
I've not even seen evidence that we aren't sleepin
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>>And one has to wonder if it's actually the technology or the person on the other end of the computer that's causing lost sleep.
In 1991, scientists discovered a third type of photoreceptor to go along with the rods and cones we all learned about in elementary school. They were discovered in humans in 2007. They're called photosensitive ganglion cells:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosensitive_ganglion_cell [wikipedia.org]
The kicker is that they detect light and directly wire into the parts of your brain controlling
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Actually, according to the summary, it's not Hulu and Netflix that cause the problem -- it's interactivity which is to blame (video games, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
So is watching porn before bed interactive or not? ;-)
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I don't believe it's interactivity that's the problem. I've found that if I play a lot of guitar before bedtime, maybe with singing, I sleep very well indeed. Better than I would if I didn't do anything that evening. And making music is interactive, I'm not passively sitting there like if I'm watching TV.
However, if I work on the computer before bedtime it may be that I won't be able to sleep for a while, that typically happens when I'm working on an interesting programming issue and my brain keeps popping
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I have been using F.lux for about 3 months and I can say it makes a huge difference in my ability to get to sleep. I never had a problem sleeping, it was falling asleep that took me a while. Now, when I go to bed, I go to sleep within minutes. I don't have to be in the dark for half an hour - an hour before getting to sleep, unless my wife is feeling frisky, which is something I can't complain about (although probably not a problem for most /.'ers). Yes F.lux could be a placebo effect, but after three
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I started using redshift (Linux version of f.lux) about a month ago, it's great.
I still need to spend less time on a computer in the evenings, I think too much sitting at a desk or cramped up with a laptop is bad for me.
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I'm a night shift worker and have trouble getting to sleep when I arrive home at 5 AM. The sun has just come up then, so I imagine that the computer screen will be at full brightness.
Would it be advisable to somehow try to fool f.lux into thinking I live in a place where normal people are about to go to sleep, or are the default setting better even if you need to be awake at night and sleep in the day?
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IIRC (it's on my home computer) f.lux changes the colour profile of your desktop towards red, which is like sunset/firelight/sleeping time, and away from blue which is like bright daylight. It's usually set based on its calculated dawn/dusk times from the time on your computer and the location you enter in the settings. I'm sure you can either override the location or just lie to it - you'd want the 'night' colour while you're meant to be getting sleepy.
Anyway, it's a free tiny download so just give it a go
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I'll try it out for a while and see what happens!
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Thanks for showing some of us actually read the posts we respond to darthdavid, as I thought I was pretty clear about that part with "...which is something I can't complain about...." I'm going to bet the anonymous coward falls under the "...although probably not a problem for most /.'ers" although I was mainly joking about that part. And to answer your question darthdavid that is only when she is feeling really, really frisky ;-)
Article summary (Score:2)
The people who are so obsessed with twitter and facebook that they bring the laptops to bed, can't get to sleep as well as normal well adjusted people who just watch a little TV before bed. Guess which group also has a better relationship with their spouses?
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TV=good (Score:1)
Funny to read a scientist referring to sittin' on the couch vegging on TV as, basically, the good ol' days.
It's 1:09am London time. (Score:4, Insightful)
And I'm reading Slashdot.
Case closed.
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1:13 here in Bedford and I've got a cold. Beat that.
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11:17 here us Israel. I win!
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I
Mmmmm.... Pancakes....
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Go to sleep! :P
I dunno about that (Score:1)
Slashdot's been pretty damn good a putting my to sleep the last few years...
An hour without using any technology... (Score:2)
Damn right I'll get sleep, there won't be anything else to do!
Correlation is not causation (Score:4, Informative)
The article refers to a poll, not an experiment. Could it be that those who have trouble sleeping are more likely to engage in interactive entertainment?
Personally, I very, very rarely have trouble sleeping. I usually find myself getting too tired for interactive entertainment about an hour before I want to sleep. I'd *love* to be able to continue playing video games up until lights out, but I just don't have the energy. Those who have lots of energy will keep playing/blogging/hacking.
Re:Correlation is not causation (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I very, very rarely have trouble sleeping. I usually find myself getting too tired for interactive entertainment about an hour before I want to sleep. I'd *love* to be able to continue playing video games up until lights out, but I just don't have the energy. Those who have lots of energy will keep playing/blogging/hacking.
Based on your /. ID, I reckon most of your inability to continue playing and low energy levels might be age related.
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Personally, I very, very rarely have trouble sleeping. I usually find myself getting too tired for interactive entertainment about an hour before I want to sleep. I'd *love* to be able to continue playing video games up until lights out, but I just don't have the energy. Those who have lots of energy will keep playing/blogging/hacking.
Based on your /. ID, I reckon most of your inability to continue playing and low energy levels might be age related.
It's predominantly genetic. I sleep 4-7 hours a night. My father is the same. I also tend to go straight from the 'puter to bed, and be sound asleep in about 5-10 mins. Some people simply need more sleep than others, and vice versa. Falling asleep is also a skill in itself, partly genetic, partly learned.
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Personally, I very, very rarely have trouble sleeping. I usually find myself getting too tired for interactive entertainment about an hour before I want to sleep. I'd *love* to be able to continue playing video games up until lights out, but I just don't have the energy. Those who have lots of energy will keep playing/blogging/hacking.
Based on your /. ID, I reckon most of your inability to continue playing and low energy levels might be age related.
Yeah he does seem a little young to be up late at night, though at least he's not still in primary school..
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For me games are not much of a problem, and I can wind down from programming fairly quickly, but if I do work e-mail within a couple hours of going to bed, I'll toss and turn worrying about work. Arguing about politics or job hunting before bed doesn't help me either - anything that gets the mind racing.
Running less than a few hours before bed also keeps me up.
As for the correlation != causation argument, it's very easy
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I think the topic was about getting a *good* night's sleep, not about trouble falling asleep.
I'm not vouching for the poll, just making a distinction. Perhaps you're not having problems sleeping, but the sleep you're getting isn't very good? (That might also be why you just don't have the energy.)
In other words, maybe those who use interactive technology just before bed are still able to fall asleep, but it's worthless sleep. Perhaps our brains are still too excited because of the interactivity to do wha
Easing into sleep (Score:2)
Go mental stimulation! (Score:2)
I happen to love being "on" as much as possible - in an aware state, perceiving as much as possible, living as much as I can with my limited lifespan.
So much so, that I tend to almost always avoid anything that will interrupt this process, like mind-altering substances from alcohol to coffee.
I can certainly appreciate the need for sleep to recuperate, and silence as time to reflect - but I don't see mental stimulation as some venal sin, or carving the occasional slice of time away from 8-hour sleep blocks a
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Yes but minimising your sleep will minimise your awareness. So sacrificing a few hours of extra sleep in order to be even more alert in your wakeful hours is often a good idea.
f.lux (Score:2)
I use f.lux it the placebo effect is working
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but the clonazepam is better !
So it's easier to fall asleep... (Score:3)
...listening to the radio than playing a video game.
Wow. Who'd a thunk it.
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WoW... [battle.net] Yep, that is the reason I can't get any sleep.
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Switch to solitaire... that puts me to sleep every time :-)
Seriously.... I've found playing solitaire-like games (mahjong, bejeweled variants....) work as well as an Ambien for getting me to sleep on a regular basis. I play on a handheld with screen dimmed and lights out. It's been a godsend. Now if I could figure out a way to stay a asleep all night.....
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You mean "WoW". [grin]
Good Job I have ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Good job I have Porphyria [wikipedia.org] because I don't even have a "Normal" sleep schedule, it's all over the map.
I don't work in an office (basically impossible with severe Porphyria), so people are always asking me when I sleep because I send business emails 24/7, and am lucky to get a 5 hour night (starting about 4 or 5 am).
Thank goodness for 24/7 Tech accessibility!
hmm I can see the point, but then again... (Score:1)
I am CONSTANTLY fixing my sleep schedule, I have taken numerous different sleeping medications, but to be honest no matter what even after a ton of melatonin, i am still up and online, I know it has to do with having so much information so readily available, but it also probably has another type of sleeping disorder.
TL;DR There are too many factors.
probably more 'fight or flight' than anything (Score:2)
If one's 'fight-or-flight' response is being constantly activated, it'd be hard to sleep.
Do you meditate or relax your body daily?
I used to have a ton of trouble falling asleep, but now I'm a consistent 12am->7:30am sleeper.
Technology, but not mine. (Score:3)
The only technology that's ever interfered with my sleep is my neighbour's sub-woofer.
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The only technology that's ever interfered with my sleep is my neighbour's sub-woofer.
A friend of mine experienced this in reverse. When the neighbors talked with him, he aimed his sub-woofer at the room, not at the wall. Load of difference for them.
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The only technology that's ever interfered with my sleep is my neighbour's sub-woofer.
A friend of mine experienced this in reverse. When the neighbors talked with him, he aimed his sub-woofer at the room, not at the wall. Load of difference for them.
"at the wall, not at the floor" you mean?
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Re:Technology, but not mine. (Score:5, Informative)
I noticed this ages ago (Score:2)
I usually go to bed at around midnight. I noticed that if I worked late (right up until the point I went to bed) or played PC games until around the same time, I would simply be too wired to go to bed and just fall asleep.
Watching TV didn't seem to have the same effect though; I could stay up late watching the box and then walk into the bedroom and pretty much faceplant and sleep immediately.
I now try to have the PC off by 10pm to stop me getting tempted to just check one more email or have one last round o
I'd say it varies (Score:2)
Despite the studies, and as a tech guy and a lifetime insomniac I can say from experience that the -reasons- for the use can make a huge difference. This is true of books and older "tech" too. A exciting story on the written page that gets you thinking isn't going to put you to sleep near as well as something that's quiet and calming. I find surfing the web doesn't bother what sleep pattern I have much. On the other hand I avoid news sites like the plague for the 3-4 hours before bed as I know there's b
One Hour Before My Bedtime (Score:1)
This guy needs to go to work at Amazon (Score:2)
Seriously! "Our family is so much cloud visionaries that we MADE IT OUR NAME."
Other "interactive" media? (Score:3)
Clearly ... (Score:2)
technologies that are 'passively received' such as TVs
I work night shift (Score:2)
And I get woken up during the daytime by telemarketing robocalls
read before bedtime (Score:1)
I've started doing this again, and I find that it helps a great deal, even if it's techie stuff.
Really, _especially_ if it's techie stuff.
Solution to the Sleep Problem (Score:1)
I used to watch movies with explicit sexual content before going to bed and had a lot of trouble. Ever since I switched to reading Slashdot before turning out the light, it's been no problem.
Known for 10 years (Score:4, Interesting)
I've had sleeping issues since high school about 10 years ago. Typically, I can't sleep until about 3 AM, and only get about 4 hours of solid rest. After that, I doze in and out of sleep for a couple hours.
I was in Africa for a bit, and regularly had no power - which meant no laptop. My sleep pattern improved drastically during those periods of time. However, the instant power was back I was using the laptop at night again. Immediately, the sleep issues returned. (Note that we did have a generator, so we still had lights and some appliances on when the power was out, but in general avoided turning anything unnecessary on unless we absolutely needed them, like computers).
I've reproduced the same behaviour in myself now that I'm in America. Cut out the laptop at night - start sleeping great in a few days. Re-introduce it: really, really rough week.
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Yeah, I gotta agree with ya. If I have insomnia and give up trying to sleep for a while, reading online means I will be awake for 2-4 hours, but reading a book will generally mean I can get to sleep in 30-60 mins.
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Oh, and I've been wondering if it's the light stimulation from screens too. Maybe kills the melatonin production?
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That wouldn't surprise me one bit. I like to read in bed, but I use those tiny LED-based reading lights so I can read my (non-LCD) Kindle e-reader and still fall asleep with the light on.
Executive summary (Score:2)
I call BS! (Score:2)
It's midnight and I'm on slashdot... oh... I get it....
Sigh (Score:2)
I literally sleep in front of my computer. I sleep on a sleeping bag on the carpeted floor in front of two laptops attached to a 23" monitor between them. I wake up quite often at 3AM. Sleep is a problem, but I never really attributed it to the equipment. I turn off the monitors, put the laptop displays to sleep, and they don't beep during the night.
Wrong headline! (Score:2)
OK, it's not the technology, it's the interactivity. The article makes that clear. I'm surprised that this is considered news, though. It's the reason I can sleep after cycling but not after fencing.
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OK, it's not the technology, it's the interactivity. The article makes that clear. I'm surprised that this is considered news, though. It's the reason I can sleep after cycling but not after fencing.
There are plenty of studies that show it's not the activity but the light from the screen. The blue light actually: there are even some apps that will redden your screen to avoid this problem.
Bah to sleep. (Score:2)
Sleep is so overrated. ZzzzZzzz... :P
A related article and poll from 2007 ... (Score:2)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-477733/Sleepy-Spend-time-internet-watching-TV-say-scientists.html [dailymail.co.uk] and http://aqfl.net/node/5268 [aqfl.net] (my poll). :)
Slightly off topic (Score:2)
Good sleep is an art and you can help achieve this goal:
* cold-foam pre-formed pillow
* nice, warm and cozy blanket
* skin-friendly sheets
* the blanket must be at 30 cm longer than you are tall
* optionally cold-foam pre-formed sleeping mask
The next step is an even more awesome cold-foam mattress than the one I have, already.
Inform yourself and buy those within a month. You will love it.
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I am clearly abnormal (Score:2)
Second, i never have what most people would qualify as trouble falling asleep. However if i don't drop off instantly after going to bed i've got
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From other studies, I am certain the issue is the light emitted.
For sleeping, your brain expects dim, red light. Bright, blueish light (what typical lamps, LEDs and displays emit) wakes your brain up or keeps it awake. The effect of turning on the light when going to the bathroom is a shock to the brain that takes quite long (1 hour I believe) to recover from (getting back to sleep).
Good advice is to go to sleep early, and wake up early, to use dim red lights rather than blue lamps in the evening. Try it ou
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if the advent of modern LED lighting will allow a programmed shift toward red lights in the evening and a shift from red to blue bias in the morning to allow gradual shutdown and awakening, rather than the shock of an alarm clock or bright lights.
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Informative)
There's already an app you can get for Windows, Linux and OS X called F.lux which changes the colour temperate of your screen based on your time and location. http://stereopsis.com/flux/ [stereopsis.com]
Just installed it and my screen has a very strong yellowy-pinky tint as it is 2am.
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I have been using this for 3 weeks now and it is excellent. It also tells me when I am working too late as my workplace has natural lightbulbs.
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I actually go the opposite way with my marine fish tanks. I have time-controlled LED lighting rigs over those tanks that use specific wavelengths of red and blue lighting to avoid the wavelengths that cause algae growth (mainly around green). As the day cycle shifts to night cycle, the output spectrum shifts to all blue - to simulate moonlight and encourage night time activities in the corals, fish, etc.
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Light is bad for melatonin production [wikipedia.org]...
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Have sex, you idiot. That's the best thing to do before going to sleep.
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Best time to have sex is in the morning, afternoon, or an hour or two after dinner. I'm always too tired to have sex by the time I feel like going to sleep.
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Then again, I did have one girlfriend who never let me live down the time I started snoring mid-sex, so -- yeah, you can really be too tired to have sex, but it's pretty rare.
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Sit in a chair and stare at the wall?
Have you tried reading "A la recherche du temps perdu", "War and peace" or "Crime and punishment"?
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Crime and Punishment is a fantastic book.
If you want something to put you to sleep, try a math book (not saying math is uninteresting, merely that READING a math theory book is mind-numbing).
Happens exactly the opposite for me. With maths, I found myself trying to almost construct a visual interpretation behind the math theory. In regards with Crime and Punishment.... I reckon that my empathic abilities suck.
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i thought the military proved a long time ago that people only need 4 hours sleep every 25 hours... And that we are addicted to sleep (for a lack of media?)
For military, that highly likely true... You see, while in the army you are not suppose to think, only to react (at orders or at on how the tactical situation evolves)... with rest, the reflex-arcs recover much sooner than your central nervous system.