Nearly 30-40% of adult population remain sleep deprived nowadays! Is this relatable to you?
In this hectic times, personal and professional works can make anybody sleep deprived. A recent research report published by scientists from Monash University, showed shocking outcomes of sleep deprivation due to excessive use of electronic devices before bedtime. In this article, we will discuss about the health issues associated with midnight smartphone scrolling and effective strategies to prevent it.
According to the recently published study, “exposure to artificial light at night, particularly between midnight and 6:00 am, may significantly increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”
Insufficient sleep can lead to serious consequences including cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, impaired cognitive function, weakened immunity, increasing stress, anxiety and depression.
“Avoiding night lights is a simple and cost-effective recommendation that may help reduce the global burden of type 2 diabetes,” mentioned the study's lead author.
To prevent this, following are some effective strategies.
For a good night’s sleep, you need to create a personalized bedtime routine. Depending on your professional and personal responsibilities, create a routine for yourself. Even if you are working in night, use blue light reduction. Scientifically, using blue light fliter don't interfere with melatonin production, which is important for maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm.
If you are looking for a sustainable solutions, try yoga. Not only for maintaining a healthy body, yoga can potentially treat sleeping cycle issues and lack of sleep. Some yoga steps for better sleep are child pose (Balasana), legs-up-the-wall Pose (Viparita Karani), standing forward bend (Uttanasana), cat-cow pose (Marjaryasana-bitilasana), corpse pose (Savasana), and so on.
In our hectic lifestyle, we prefer to entertain ourselves before sleep by scrolling social media. It might not be true for all, but applicable for the majority. Believe it or not using smartphone before sleep is extremely harmful for your health. Thus, you need to stay away from this at least 30-45 minutes before sleep. Use the “Do Not Disturb” mode or schedule notification timing to improve sleep hygiene.
It's highly important to stay away from electronic devices during night. Thus, you should create a tech-free bedroom with some good smell of lavender. Usually, scent of lavender promote sleep. Keep your light dim and focus on sleeping.
Good habits are necessary for healthy lifestyle. Use your tech-free time in the night to read physical books after taking a hot shower. Use traditional alarm clock instead of smartphones. Practice deep breathing exercises to promote sleep. Try consuming lavender tea or chamomile tea in the evening which can promote sleep. Also, stay away from caffeine post evening, it will interfere with your sleep cycle. Remember, maintaining a good sleep hygiene can improve your health and productivity.
For some patients, using smartphone in night is an addiction. They try the most popular approach, which is taking sleep-inducing medicines. However, these medicines may harm your body badly. So, stay away from them and try these above-mentioned hacks for improved sleep hygiene.
