6 Reasons Why You Need To Stop Using Your Phone At Night

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Most of us are attached to our phones at the hip. From the time you open your eyes in the morning to the time you sleep, your thumbs keep scrolling and your eyes stay glued to the screen. After all, the time before you go to sleep is the best time to scroll through your social media feed or get a head start on checking your work email.

However, health experts and studies reveal that what seems like a perfectly innocent habit may be doing your health serious harm. Although you may think that checking your messages and scrolling through your Instagram account for memes may help you fall asleep faster, using your phone at night in your bed at night only results in negatively affecting your vision and overall eye health.

The blue light that the mobile phone emits is sharp during the night. It does not just affect your vision but also the production of melatonin hormone, which is responsible for sleep. Before you climb into your bed tonight with your phone, consider these reasons why you should leave your phone in the other room.

1. Affects Sleep Duration

The blue light emitted by mobile phones affects the production of melatonin. Melatonin is one of the hormones that helps one to sleep and regulates the sleep cycle. Regular use of the mobile phone at night before going to sleep can lead to sleep deprivation as your mind may be overly excited or activated. Apart from that, the compulsive desire to check your phone and scrolling and refreshing can lead to a delay in bedtime and reduce your total sleep time.

2. Damages The Retina

The blue light emitted by the mobile phone, more specifically the smartphones have the shortest wavelength that flickers more. This affects the vision and over a long period, it can even damage the retina. According to the American Macular Degeneration Association, the blue light emitted from the phones cause damage to the retinas, causing a transient/reversible vision problem.

3. Increased Risk Of Depression

Staring at your phone when you are supposed to sleep not only affects your physical health but also your mental health. When the blue light from the mobile screens disrupt your hormones and sleep patterns, you also become vulnerable to developing depression. Additionally, low energy levels during the day, combined with foggy thinking because of sleep deprivation can also trigger a sense of emotional and mental weakness.

4. Higher Risk Of Cancer

The World Health Association stated that cell phones could be carcinogenic to humans since they emit electromagnetic radiation that has been linked to certain types of cancer. Prolonged exposure to blue light and its effect on the sleep cycle has been shown to increase the risk of brain cancer.

5. Impacts Your Memory

Contradicting to its name 'smart' phones, overexposure to these gadgets can affect your brain. Night phone usage and disrupted sleep make it impossible for your brain to repair connections that were damaged during the day - one of the major reasons why you can't think clearly after a night without sleep.

6. Strains Your Eye

When it is dark and you have that blue light from the mobile phone directly hitting the eyes, it causes eye strain and pain. When this is continued for long, it can permanently damage the vision as well.

On A Final Note…

Technological advancements are indeed a boon, but one must be aware of using it for enhancing our lives and not affecting it negatively. Whether you need the full eight hours of rest or are one of those rare people who can wake up rested after four, it is important to keep the phone out of your bedroom. Start from today!

Sneha KrishnanGeneral Medicine

MBBS

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