Does reading in bed really make you fall asleep?

Falling asleep isn’t always easy after a day of back-to-back activities and responsibilities, which is why many people pick up a good book when they climb into bed.  Few things can replace books when it’s necessary to unwind after the day and prepare for sleep, but in some cases, reading before bed may be counterproductive.

The issue doesn’t have to do with the type of books being read; the problem is with how those books are being read. A few decades ago ‘reading a book’ meant turning paper pages. Now the book market has been invade by technology known as eReaders, devices that take the ‘book’ part out of reading a book.

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The issue with eReaders, however, is similar to that of other electronic screens–the artificial light can cause disruptions in the brain, leading to poor quality of sleep.

“This is different from natural light in composition, having a greater impact on sleep and circadian rhythms,” explained Anne-Marie Chang from Penn State University to MNT. “We live in a sleep-restricted society, in general. It is important to further study the effects of using light-emitting devices, especially before bed, as they may have longer term health consequences than we previously considered.”

Chang and a team of researchers recently conducted a study on using eReaders before sleep. What they found was that light-emitting devices prevented study participants from falling asleep an average of ten minutes longer when compared to traditional books.

The light from the eReaders caused a suppression of melatonin, the hormone responsible for the body’s day-night cycle. In other words, the electronic readers tricked the brain into thinking it was still daytime, thus preventing the body from wanting to sleep.

Researchers also noted individuals who used the light-emitting eReaders experienced less REM sleep and were less alert the following morning.

This is certainly not the first time electronic devices have been found to be bad for slumber. Materials from the Harvard School of Medicine explain artificial lighting at night is bad for sleep in general, but different wave lengths are worse than others. Blue light, for example, is considered the worst type of artificial light, and it just so happens to be the same light in the background of most computers and televisions.

SEE ALSO: When you can’t tell night from day: Non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder

“While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light does so more powerfully,” states the university. “Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours).”

Loss of sleep may be the least of the worries eReaders potentially face, however. Light exposure and interrupted circadian rhythms have been linked in multiple studies to an increased risk for certain cancers as well as depression, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

Individuals should do their best to avoid electronic screen for 2-3 hours prior to bed, and if such exposure can’t be avoided, a pair of blue light-blocking glasses should be purchased.

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