PUT MY PHONE TO SLEEP SKIN

Blue light, of the kind emitted by digital devices and energy-saving bulbs, activates photoreceptors in the brain which boost alertness and suppress melatonin, altering circadian rhythms. As little as eight lux вЂ“ dimmer than most table lamps вЂ“ has an effect on melatonin levels.

It is present in the body at low levels during the day, and begins being released a few hours before bedtime, peaking in the middle of the night. Melatonin is the chemical that signals to your body it is time to sleep. What they havenвЂ™t appreciated вЂ“ until recently вЂ“ is how dramatic the impact can be. Researchers have known for a while that the blue light from your digital device messes with your circadian rhythms. In the Ikea study, 54 per cent of people said they checked social media before bed, and almost 23 per cent said they play computer games. When youвЂ™re lying there and your body feels like itвЂ™s crying out for sleep, but your brain is running too fast, and youвЂ™re too tired to pick up an ordinary book, you sort of give into temptation.вЂќ Blue lightДonnelly avoids her phone at night, though she too sometimes вЂњgives in to temptationвЂќ. вЂњI would be guilty of resorting to whiling away the sleepless hours using the phone.

However, he admits, thereвЂ™s one habit he has found hard to break. IвЂ™ve stopped eating after certain times, I cut coffee down hugely and IвЂ™ve never smoked and hardly drink. IвЂ™ve tried going for walks in the evening, taking warm baths, doing early evening exercise. James Casserley, a 42-year-old librarian, has suffered from sleep problems since childhood. But there could be another culprit вЂ“ one thatвЂ™s never more than armвЂ™s length away during the day, that sleeps beside you while you sleep. вЂWorryвЂ™ was the most common cause of sleep problems. A study of 20,000 people in the UK found that the number of those diagnosed with insomnia, and the number of those using sleep medication, each doubled between 19. And yet, weвЂ™re getting less of it than ever. We have a clearer picture than ever of how important sleep is to our overall health. We also have to think about the short-term consequences like road traffic accidents or the risk of depression or the impact on decision making.вЂќ

PUT MY PHONE TO SLEEP SKIN

вЂњWe know that poor sleep is linked to cancer, weight gain, diabetes, immune system problems, skin damage and increased cardiovascular disease,вЂќ says Breege Leddy, a sleep physiologist who runs the Insomnia Clinic in Co Cavan.

Other research from France showed the brains of workers who had been on night shifts for a decade had aged by an extra 6.5 years. A report by the World Health Organisation warns that sleep deprivation is as much a risk factor for heart disease as smoking, lack of exercise or a poor diet, leading to claims that it is the вЂњnew smokingвЂќ вЂ“ although this idea seems to have gained currency when Arianna Huffington released a book on the subject in 2016.ДЄ 2014 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience showed the brain cells of mice died off when they were deprived of sleep. Recent evidence suggests she is right to be concerned. Any time I read a study that says people who sleep poorly are likely to develop x, y, or z later in life, I think вЂthatвЂ™s meвЂ™.вЂќ

вЂњIвЂ™m probably my own worst enemy because at 1am, I get performance anxiety about the fact that I only have five hours left. On a bad night, of which she gets a few a year, she gets no sleep at all. On an average night, Donnelly gets four or five hoursвЂ™ sleep. For an unlucky six per cent like Donnelly, these problems persist for more than a month.ДЄ recent study of 1,000 adults in Ireland, commissioned by Ikea and carried out by вЂњsleep consultantвЂќ Lucy Wolfe, found that one-third of adults are getting by on less than six hours a night. Worldwide, at any given time, 10-30 per cent of the population is having trouble sleeping. But I canвЂ™t remember the last time I felt fully refreshed.вЂќ Like one in three of us, 31-year-old radio producerLaura Donnelly is not getting enough sleep. вЂњIвЂ™ve tried acupuncture, reflexology and reiki.

Put my phone to sleep