Gadgets have made our lives convenient, but at the same time, safety issues have thwarted their ease. Experts are still debating & studying whether radio wavelengths emitted from cellular phone causes brain cancer or not. Now another team of researchers has discovered that charging cell phones or tablets in the bedroom, during night can lead to weight gain.
For the production of optimum level of a hormone known as Melatonin that plays a key role in modulating the transformation of food and drink into energy, our body requires pitch-dark environment. Melatonin is known to control sleep-wake patterns and is a strong anti-inflammatory that boosts the body metabolism.
Charging light disrupts sleep
Researchers from the University of Granada, in Spain discovered that light (specifically blue) that are emitted from street lamps, cell phones, computers and television inhibits the ability of the body to produce a hormone that fights obesity. In short, during night, the light from these sources can disturb melatonin production and thus barring our body to burn food efficiently.
According to researchers, short wavelength blue light emitted from phones, computers when charging is although not too bright, keeps the mind active and therefore, significantly disrupt sleep directly, and metabolism process indirectly. For the study, obese rats were injected with melatonin. The results showed that increased intake of the hormone regulated their system and helped the rats to lose weight and also aided in combating type two diabetes. The team believes that the result can be duplicated for the humans as well.
Controlling sleep pattern for diabetes patient
Researchers now aim to study the effect of controlling sleep pattern for diabetes patient, a disease that is generally associated with obesity. How changes in the sleep-wake cycle may be playing a part in the commencement of diabetes and obesity and how improving the cycle can positively affect these conditions.
Other studies also greatly emphasize on the importance of night nap in complete darkness as this is the time when melatonin level increases and the same get blocked during the daytime after the sun rises. There occurs an alteration in metabolism by sleeping late at nights and getting exposure from artificial light during night.
Exposure to artificial light disrupting body’s hormone production during sleep
In today’s time, sedentary lifestyle combined with a high calorie diet and exposure to artificial light is lowering melatonin generation. Therefore, obesity is increasing like an epidemic and has become a worldwide problem.
As per NHS report, in the UK, one out of four adults is clinically obese and one child in every five children aged 10 to 11 is obese. Insufficient sleep is also associated with many other diseases like cancer and heart diseases apart from obesity and type two diabetes.
Therefore, experts advise that sleeping in complete dark environment is important for the biological clock to function normally. So avoid keeping your gadgets on or at charge while sleeping. Bedroom is the place for you to relax and it would be better if you keep your gadgets like laptops, television, tablets and preferably phone switched off while you sleep or may keep them in any other room.
Source: The Independent
