When I was a teenager, I used to sleep before 9 PM on week days. On weekends it will extend by 30 min because of my favorite TV drama. With a sufficient amount of good deep sleep, I woke up next day full of vigor. Whether it’s sports or classes or assignments, I was never spiritless.
Fast forward today, this is an era where a device/platform will be tracking every movement of us by taking our consent though( Does not matter we neither read ‘terms and conditions section’ nor bother giving access when it demands). We have umpteen number of examples of data/privacy security breaches everyday. Millennial generation has witnessed this incomprehensible evolvement of technology around their lives. It became indispensable in day to day life. Smart phone has become as essential as our organs.
We are constantly feeding information(floating in internet) to our brain . We consumed information then, Information is consuming us now. Our screen time is soaring every day. Abundance of social media can’t get any better. It’s full of whimsical pictures which is alluring teenagers even more. The average screen time of teenagers(Adults too) is increasing more n more due to FOMO. Well its Fear Of Missing Out. (A new dictionary has to be out with social media jargons). The same information will be available next day too. It can wait. However that device is not letting us sleep. Unfortunately, We are ScreenAgers now.
A scientific study of the prevalence of smart phone usage during bed time leaves us in splits. Almost 92% used smartphones before they fall asleep.
This suppresses melatonin secretion which will have severe effects on us. Melatonin should be high for sleepiness. Bed time usage of phone is triggering a signal in the brain to produce it less. It in turn secretes Cortisol which is responsible for waking up and alertness(Which was supposed to be during day time or mornings). It reversed the cycle and causing detrimental effects. One amongst those is poor sleep quality which entails lethargic morning of next day. It has adverse effects on teenagers who involves in sports, schooling and education. Poor eye sight is on the way for us if we continue entertaining more screen time everyday. Our eyes are working more these days. It’s welcoming aging of skin earlier than expected. These concerns are not only pertaining to health, it impacts our social interactions and other relationships too because it is inducing an hormonal change after all.
Nevertheless, We have to guard ourselves from this trend. Some changes I could think of are :
- Stop using phone at least an hour before our bed time.
- Keeping phone at least 5 feet away if possible another room.
- Buy an alarm clock instead ( You won’t be able to keep your aside using alarm excuse anymore).
- Don’t pick up the phone until any notification pops up( Turn of all unnecessary notifications prior to this). I see people unlock phones constantly in spite of no new notifications.
- Track your screen time / progress. It really motivates us to sustain change.
- If you are more interested track your Melatonin levels using saliva test.
- Schedule DND(Do Not Disturb).
