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Friday, May 29, 2015
Dubai: While convenient, keeping your mobile
phone at arm’s length when one is sleeping has proven to affect quality of
sleep, and even health.
Research
conducted by several universities and doctors has shown that radiation emitted
from mobile phones, especially 3G and 4G-enabled smart phones, delays and
disrupts sleep.
Dr
Saeed Taghizadeh, specialist neurologist at Prime Hospital, pointed out that
electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones also interferes with the
body’s ability to heal.
He referred to research
led by by Professor Bengt Arnetz, a Swedish professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, which found that using a handset right before bed
prolongs the amount of time it takes for people to reach a deep state of sleep.
“Anything
that disrupts the quality of our sleep impacts our attentiveness and
irritability in the short and long term.”
While productive sleep
helps our bodies recover form the stresses of the day, the affects of being
exposed to cell phone radiation through out the night is more likely to be
evident in children and adolescents.
Dr
Taghizadeh explained that sleeping beside a phone is especially bad for
children and teenagers who typically need more sleep than adults.
“It can
cause mood and personality changes such as [attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder] ADHD-like symptoms and depression.”
Dr
Fatima Nazir, general practitioner at Gardens Speciality Clinic, told Gulf News
that experts are concerned about the effects of the radiation, as some research
suggests that sleeping with your mobile by your bedside can cause dizziness and
headaches, and can even trigger insomnia and other sleeping disorders.
“At the
very least it makes us hyper vigilant so our sleep is more likely to be
disturbed and we don’t get enough of the restorative sleep we need,” said Dr
Nazir.
What
happens when you sleep?
The
hormone cortisol that signals us to wake up, and the hormone melatonin, which
makes us sleepy are controlled by the light-sensitive cells in the brain.
“Light
stimulates cells in the retina, the area at the back of the eye that transmits
messages to the brain, and the light-sensitive cells inform the body what time
it is,” explained Dr Fatima. When sleeping beside a mobile phone or tablet, the
blue light emitted from the device has a stimulating effect. The cells in the
retina are most sensitive to blue light because of a pigment called melanopsin,
which is why reading on a phone or a tablet before bed is more likely to keep a
person awake than reading a book using a bedside light.
“For
this reason, experts advise a ban on screen time two to three hours before
bed,” said Dr Fatima.
With
smart phones replacing most traditional devices such as alarm clocks and flash
lights, sleeping with your phone in the next room can be a big inconvenience.
However,
it can be the solution for a good night’s sleep.
