It’s getting to that time of the year where we realize procrastination has gotten the best of us and we need to cram for all of the finals that we have. Be warned though, late-night screen staring can seriously mess with your sleep cycle! Whether it’s late night study session or just a night-cap Netflix episode or Facebook statuses to fall asleep to, looking at a computer screen shortly before bed could be very unhealthy. In fact, the act of checking texts, emailing, Facebooking, or anything else on the web before bed has become a habit for over 95% of survey participants! This probably includes you too.
How do all of these things keep you from a good night’s sleep you ask? Well for one thing, when your mind is obsessed with checking messages constantly, it can effect your head – one in two people say that if they wake in the night for no reason, they’ll check their phone right away. But what about my netflix? Surely Netflix before bed can’t be too bad right? Well, the fact is that two-hour exposure to light from electronic displays suppresses melatonin by 22%! This doesn’t just affect your sleep but also stress and depressive symptoms. Consider using flux to dim that electronic display or just make a conscious effort not to use your computer too close to bed-time!