Digital Device Use Linked to Daytime Sleepiness–What’s Keeping You Up At Night
What’s keeping you up at night
Quality sleep is hard to come by nowadays. With technology consuming our lives—cell phones, computers, televisions, tablets and more—our brains are constantly stimulated by digital noise. A recent article* indicates that electronic device use before bedtime can adversely affect sleep quality in children and teens, leading to daytime sleepiness. Sleep is vital for brain development, memory, self-regulation, attention, immune function, cardiovascular health and much more and stimulation from content and even blue light emitted from digital devices may play a role in sleep deprivation.
Exposure to blue light can affect circadian rhythms—sort of a biological clock in the body that regulates sleep/wake cycles—by suppressing the secretion of melatonin. In a Harvard experiment, blue light suppressed melatonin twice as long as green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much.* High-energy blue light exposure not only affects sleep patterns and quality but also eye health and vision. American adults spend an average of 9.5 hours a day in front of media screens*—a phenomenon that has trickled down to children, as more and more schools teach using digital devices. With substantial increase in the use of digital devices and energy-efficient indoor lights such as LED and compact fluorescence, protecting our eyes in all age groups has become more vital than ever.
About Macular Carotenoids and Lutemax® 2020
Carotenoids are pigments responsible for the yellow to red colors in plants. More than 600 carotenoids are found in nature, but only three are found in the eye – lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin—collectively known as macular carotenoids that are potent antioxidants and help filter blue light. They are unique because they are specifically deposited in the macula – the region of the eye responsible for highest visual acuity –and help filter high-energy blue light.
Lutemax® 2020 from OmniActive Health Technologies is a naturally-derived marigold extract providing all three macular carotenoids—lutein and enhanced levels of both zeaxanthin isomers (RR-and RS [meso]-zeaxanthin)—at the same 5:1 ratio as found in nature to support optimal eye health. The B.L.U.E (Blue Light User Exposure) study, showed Lutemax 2020 supplementation has beneficial effects on ocular health and performance and reducing eye strain and fatigue in those individuals with long duration exposure to digital screens and other sources of high-energy blue light. If abstaining from digital devices before bedtime isn’t an option, then consider a complete macular carotenoid formula like Lutemax® 2020 to help filter high-energy blue light that may influence not only how you see but also how you sleep.
For more information on high-energy blue light and macular carotenoids, check out our video.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Copyright 2016 OmniActive Health Technologies Ltd.
Lutemax 2020 is a trademark of OmniActive Health Technologies
*“Cell phones and screens are keeping your kid awake,” CNN, November, 2016
*“Blue light has a dark side. Exposure to blue light at night, emitted by electronics and energy-efficient lightbulbs, harmful to your health,” Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, May 2012
*eMarketer, July 2013