6 Reasons Why You and Your Laptop Should Sleep in Separate Bedrooms

 

Do you ever get the feeling that you and your laptop are in a co-dependent relationship? Well, you might not be alone. In recent years, so many of us have grown very accustomed to falling asleep with the blue lights on, but what affect does this have on our sleeping patterns? Well, turns out the effects are not great. In fact, recent studies suggest that you could be doing some serious mental and physical damage to yourself by using technology before you go to sleep, so bearing that in mind, Wellth would like to give you six reasons why you and your laptop should stay in separate bedrooms:

A Lack of Sleep Equals Potential Weight Gain

It is important to point out that weight gain and obesity has many different factors. That being said, it is worth noting that research shows that sleep habits do appear to play a role. In fact one recent study found that overweight children get less sleep than normal weight kids, which could be connected with chaos in the home as well as unchecked screen time, TVs in bedrooms and many other factors. Another study showed that nurses and young women who have inconsistent sleep schedules were likely more overweight than peers with more consistent schedules. So, basically what these studies point to is that consistent sleep deprivation acts upon the body’s physical metabolism and the more you’re awake, the more you’ll want to eat, both of which are contributors to weight gain.

Turn the Blue Light Off

The effect that light has plays a huge role in the regulation of our internal circadian rhythms. Electronics like the TV, your phone, your laptop, or even LED lights emit blue light. Research shows that light in the blue spectrum acts on our bodies by suppressing our natural melatonin and because melatonin is the hormone that induces drowsiness, delaying its release means more time spent awake and greater difficulty getting sleepy.

Lack of Sleep Can Affect Health and Productivity

In a recent survey, it was found that those frequently use their electronics such as their phones or laptops before sleep experience greater delays in their sleep and wake up schedules which results in them waking up much later in the day. It was also found that children who had electronic devices on at night in their rooms had the highest reports of fair to poor sleep, while those who left electronics off had the highest reports of excellent sleep.

Combining Electronics and Your Bed May Be Problematic

Doing activities in bed such as watching TV or using your laptop can be harmful to sleep schedule. The more things you are able to associate your bed with, the less it thinks of sleep when you are there.

Stimulation and/or Stress Makes it Harder to Sleep

Electronics such smartphones and laptops stimulate our minds and distract us from sleeping. But, falling asleep is only half the battle. In recent polls many young adults admitted to waking up several times per week due to their phones going off and many others have admitted to texting or emailing after initially going to sleep. When you wake up from a deep sleep to check your phone, you make it harder for yourself to go back to sleep and if you’re someone who gets stressed by work emails or other messages, then sleep will most likely be even harder to get back to.

Delays REM Sleep

We can all agree that our phones and laptops are designed to make our lives easier, but to continue on from our last bullet point, if you are looking at notifications before you sleep, you are not making anything easier on yourself. By doing this, you are not only keeping yourself distracted, but you are also keeping your brain stimulated which delays REM sleep.

 

All of the reasons listed above are excellent motivations for you to get the sleep you need, separately from your computer. BTW if you are struggling with the breakup, try some melatonin.