It is well known that insufficient sleep time and poor sleep quality can have a negative impact on human health, such as overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease, cognitive deterioration, and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Among them, many scholars believe that an important factor leading to sleep disorders is the use of electronic media before going to bed, including brushing mobile phones, watching TV, playing computers, and listening to music.
Due to "bedtime procrastination", people tend to shorten their sleep time in order to enjoy such recreational activities, resulting in a decrease in sleep quality and an increase in the frequency of insomnia. Some researchers have even suggested that there should be no TV in the bedroom.
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However, a new study published Feb. 8 in the Journal of Sleep Research shows that if people lie in bed "intently" using electronic media without multitasking and keeping time within an hour, sleep quality is not affected by bedtime media use and is more inclined to go to bed earlier than usual, with more adequate sleep time.
In the three-day study, 58 participants were asked to use a diary to record when electronic media was used before bedtime, where it was used, and whether other tasks were being processed at the same time. In addition to subjective sleep monitoring records, the researchers objectively monitored the participants' sleep quality through a portable EEG "Zmachine", collecting sleep data at different stages, including bedtime, total sleep time, deep sleep and RAPID EYE movement sleep.
Important environmental variables include where electronic media is used, whether multitasking and duration of use are involved.
The researchers found that behaviors such as brushing your phone and watching TV before bed may not be as harmful to sleep as some previous studies have shown. Important environmental variables regulate this association, such as where electronic media is used, whether multitasking and duration of use are involved. The results of the study show that the use of electronic media before going to bed means that people go to bed earlier. Second, lying in bed with electronic devices can shorten their use time. In general, multitasking is not involved, and concentrating on the use of electronic media in bed within an hour before bedtime does not affect the quality of sleep, but rather helps to go to bed early and increases the total sleep time.
"Using media before bedtime, such as watching TV or listening to music, as long as you maintain a short, focused period of time, is unlikely to have any negative effect on the sleep that night." The study's lead author, Dr. Morgan Elithorpe of the University of Delaware, said.
After the study was published, Pete Eichels, a professor of psychology and science communication at the University of Bassbad in the United Kingdom, noted that many previous related studies tended to rely on self-reported measurements of study subjects, but this study improved this shortcoming by adopting a more objective, EEG-based sleep measurement method. "We need to recognize that there is a complex link between electronic media use and sleep, and this study is a good start to this type of research," he said. ”
Red Star News reporter Hu Yiling
Edited by Zhang Xun
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