Álvarez 1

Víctor Álvarez

Dr. Jason Dew

ENGL 1302 280

2 February 2023

The Effects of Screentime on Sleeping Hours

Preface

In the United States in 2020, almost 35% of adults suffered from sleep deprivation

(CDC). Although sleep deprivation can have different causes, one of them may include the

voluntary replacement of sleep time with spending time using computers, cell phones, tablets,

and even watching television. Despite these activities already consuming time that could be

used sleeping, it is also worth noting that these devices emit blue light. Lightning, regardless

of its color, limits the secretion of melatonin during nighttime, however, blue light has been

proven to be much more disruptive than other colors (Harvard Health Publishing, par. 3). It is

worth mentioning that melatonin is a hormone produced in reaction to darkness which helps

the human body to adapt its circadian rhythm, which is the way the human body adapts its

biological clock to daytime and nighttime (NCCIH, par. 1). Because of this, the human body

stays awake in reaction to blue light. Also, a prolonged alteration of the circadian rhythm can

have an impact on a person’s general health, on top of his or her sleep. This includes metabolic

disorders and depression (Newsom, par. 12). On top of blue light being already disruptive

enough during the night, LED lights—which most devices nowadays feature—can be more

intense than other sources of artificial lightning (Ramsey, par. 12). And because of how reliant

on electronic devices society nowadays is, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic started,

where a considerable number of jobs and schoolwork have been transferred to virtual

modalities, it is not uncommon for workers and students to spend hours in front of a computer
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or tablet, especially at night, after arriving home from school or work and before sleeping.

Knowing that LED blue light has a substantial impact on the body’s circadian rhythm, how

does it affect sleep, more specifically, sleeping time? Beforehand, it is worth noting that blue

lights are not entirely harmful, but completely the opposite; blue lights during daytime are

beneficial for the human body. As Jodi Helmer enumerates in her article for WebMD, blue

light can: “boost alertness; help memory; raise mood; improve attention span and reaction

times.” It should also be clear that blue light is not artificial, or even emitted solely by artificial

devices; in fact, the Sun is a natural source of blue light. Despite the previously mentioned

benefits, it should still be considered that, during nighttime, blue lights are not beneficial, since

they can potentially reduce sleep time. Particularly, the usage of electronic devices that emit

this color of light minutes before sleeping can be harmful.

Method

To respond to the previously risen question, an experiment was conducted. A person’s

sleeping time was recorded for six nights. The first three nights saw exposure to blue light for

at least fifteen minutes right before sleeping, and the last three nights, no exposure at all for at

least thirty minutes. The first night, the person had an exposure of fifteen minutes right before

sleeping and slept for seven hours. The second night, the person spent twenty minutes and,

once again, slept for seven hours. On the last night, the person had an exposure of eighteen

minutes, however, the person did not fall asleep immediately, but rather took around fifteen

minutes to fall asleep, which could explain the eight hours of sleep recorded that night. The

following three nights, the person did not get exposed to blue light thirty minutes before

sleeping. The fourth and fifth nights saw an increase in sleeping time compared to the first and

second nights, as the person slept for around eight hours; however, for the sixth and last night,

the person slept for nine hours instead of the expected eight. A factor suggesting why this

abnormality occurred could be the avoidance of bright lights for the previous two nights and
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an improvement in sleeping habits. Another theory could be the fact that the person did not

have a reason to wake up early that day. However, this theory is ruled out considering another

two of the six nights the person did not have to wake up early either; the aforementioned nights

did not see an abnormality of this kind. The person presented an average of 7.3 hours of sleep

during the first three days, which is to say, immediately after exposure to blue light. Meanwhile,

the person presented an average of 8.3 hours of sleep time, during the nights where no exposure

to blue light was recorded—an increase of one hour in average sleep time.

Conclusion and advice.

The experiment results indicate that an increase of one hour of sleep time can be

achieved if an individual is not exposed to blue light before sleeping. It might be believed that

the difference of thirty minutes between being and not being exposed to blue light is minimal,

however, it is still important to highlight that not everyone will sleep at least seven hours. At

the same time, it might be believed that a loss of an hour of sleep is harmless. While this is true

only if it happens very few times, the difference between sleeping for six hours and for seven

hours for several days can have an impact on a person’s performance during job-, school-, and

even house-related activities. As the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute states: “After

several nights of losing sleep — even a loss of just 1 to 2 hours per night — your ability to

function suffers as if you haven't slept at all for a day or two.” It should also be accounted that,

in many cases, exposure to blue light is derived from the use of electronic devices which by

itself can already consume time that would be better used sleeping. It is recommended to avoid

all LED blue lights at least thirty minutes before sleeping, as well as covering or diming any

other source of lightning during the same period (qtd. in Hong 86). Creating a sleeping routine

is also helpful, as it can potentially limit exposure to lightning before sleep, but overall, it can

help improve sleep.

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Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Adults - Sleep and Sleep Disorders,” Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Nov. 2022, www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-and-

statistics/adults.html.

Harvard Medical School. “Blue light has a dark side.” Harvard Health Publishing, 7 July 2020,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Melatonin: What You Need to

Know.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, July 2022,

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/melatonin-what-you-need-to-know

Newsom, Rob. “How Blue Lights Affect Sleep.” Sleep Foundation, 18 October 2022,

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/bedroom-environment/blue-light

Ramsey, David. “Will blue light from electronic devices increase my risk of macular

degeneration and blindness?” Harvard Health Publishing, 1 May 2019,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/will-blue-light-from-electronic-devices-

increase-my-risk-of-macular-degeneration-and-blindness-2019040816365

Hong, Barbara. M.A.P. Workbook: My Aspirational Plan. Texas A&M International

University, 2022.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “How Sleep Affects your Health.” National

Institutes of Health, 15 June 2022.