Electronic Devices Keep You Up at Night

Question

Electronic devices produce blue light. Blue light is short-wavelength enriched light that has been proven to slow the production of your natural melatonin release. Blue light can also affect the quality of sleep you are getting. Children are most affected by the lack of sleep from blue light, because their brains are still developing.

I found this when researching issues that can affect sleep. I found numerous other articles that also supported this claim. This article was written by Danielle pacheco and medically approved by Kimberly trong.

Comments

I thought your fact check was really good. I thought you provided a great source to go with the claim. The source provided very helpful evidence to why using electronic devices at night isn't good for someone's health, the article also provided tips on how to solve this issue which I thought was a great addition to the article.

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I agree with this fact check and appreciate the explanation, however it would've been good to know a few more of the other articles you found that prove this claim just to add extra supports. I liked how you went into more than just whether it was right or wrong but gave an example.

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I like how you have multiple sources have proven that using electronics before bed can make it harder to fall asleep. This is because the blue light emitted from screens reduces the body's natural production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep.

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This is a good claim due to the way its being backed up and the evidence that was brought into your claim with your sources good job!

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I agree with this statement that electronic devices can disrupt sleep patterns due to the blue light and how it stimulates our brain making us more alert and awake. The article provided was clear and had good details to support the statement. A clear understanding on the science behind how it affects us and ways how we can prevent technology disrupting our sleep routine.

Answer 1

When researching if electronic devices keep you up at night, I came across a helpful article published by UCLA health. Stated in the article is "Electronic devices like smartphones, laptops and TVs emit an artificial blue light that mimics sunshine. Sunlight signals the body to wake up. Here’s how the blue light streaming from your device stimulates you both physically and mentally, making it more challenging to fall asleep."  The article goes further into detail explaining how this same light that stimulates you physically and mentally effects a nerve in your eye which signals to your brain weather it's time to wake up or go to sleep. Furthermore we can see that devices do affect our sleep patterns making it harder to fall asleep at night.

Information from UCLA Health: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/are-electronic-devices-impacting-your-sleep

Answer 2

In a nutshell, yes, this is true. Electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and TVs emit an artificial blue light that mimics sunlight, which signals the body to wake up. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a collection of cells in the brain that receive light and dark signals from the optic nerve in the eye. When it's time to wake up or go to sleep, those signals inform the body's internal clock. The SCN cannot activate regular body activities and regulate hormones when blue light interferes with your cycle. It also slows down the body's release of melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that controls sleep, and it is produced by the pineal gland. As daylight gets shorter, the pineal gland is stimulated by the SCN to create melatonin. Beginning at approximately 9 p.m., the hormone is released into the bloodstream, where it rises during the early hours of the night. You get more drowsy as a result, and you stay that way until the SCN wakes up your body. 

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/are-electronic-devices-impacting-your-sleep

Answer 3

This claim seems to be very true. Doing further research on this topic I’ve found that several universities have also recently published studies supporting this claim (see below). The Harvard study specifically states “At night, light throws the body's biological clock—the circadian rhythm —out of whack… Worse, research shows that it may contribute to the causation of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity” (Harvard Health Publishing). It seems that screen time at night can also result into bigger issues stemming from a lack of or bad sleep. UCDavis also mentions this saying, “Interruption of the circadian system plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, sleep disorders, and cognitive dysfunctions” (Cultivating Health).

https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/blue-light-effects-on-your-eyes-sleep-and-health/2022/08#:~:text=How%20does%20blue%20light%20affect,sleep%20disorders%2C%20and%20cognitive%20dysfunctions.

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

Answer 4

The claim that is made is that electronic devices keep you up at night because blue light slows down your melatonin. They attached a link to the article Can Electronics Affect Quality Sleep? | Sleep Foundation. This is written by Danielle Pacheco and is backed up by sleep medicine physicist Kimberly Trough. This article is fact checked and is a ".org" site. The sleep foundation is rated on Scamdetector.com (a site that uses 53 different facts to test the credibility) as a high medium authentic source. Sleep Foundation is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide expert info concerning sleep and is funded by pharmaceutical device companies. They are not in it to sell you something so there is no motive to lie about their research. 

After some research, I concluded that this claim is true due to many sources backing it up. One being Smartphones and Sleep: How Your Device Affects Your Rest. This website maintains independence from commercial influences and has no political agendas. They say that it is in fact the blue light that tricks the brain into thinking it is still daylight and therefore suppressing the amount of melatonin it produces. Along with this they mentioned something that the original claim did not. They agreed that its the bluelight but said it also is the psychological stimulation that being on a device does. Your mind stays active and so it is harder to wind down and go to sleep. 

Answer 5

This claim seems to be quite accurate, an article from the website (a few years ago) 'Cleveland Clinic' states similar findings, also commenting on the effects of blue light. I have heard this to be true many times, and every article I have found has approved this claim. The second website stuck out to me because the article was updated this month and medically approved, meaning the information is recent and accurate. 

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/put-the-phone-away-3-reasons-why-looking-at-it-before-bed-is-a-bad-habit

https://www.verywellhealth.com/reasons-why-you-should-not-sleep-with-your-cell-phone-4140997

Answer 6

The statement that "electronic devices keep you up at night" is a true statement. While it could be worded differently to be more direct, it does get the point across. The source that was used is very reliable and it is an organization that primarily studies sleep, making it useful for this topic. Upon further research, I have found an article by UCLA Health that supports the claim and uses similar evidence that the original claim uses. Both point out the blue light produced by electronic devices prevents you from falling asleep at night. 

Are Electronic Devices Impacting Your Sleep? | UCLA Health

Answer 7

I believe this Fact Check to be true and I can speak from first hand experience that technology does indeed keep you up later than you should be up. Getting sleep is the most crucial part of living a happy and healthy life. This link provided is perfect and makes the most sense for this topic. Great Job!

Answer 8

Good fact check! Blue light has been studied and proven to make our brains feel more awake at night. I have read multiple studies that show you should stop looking at your phone at least one hour before bed.

Comments

Hi! I like your suggestion for helping you sleep at night, but as response to this claim I think it would be better if you included your sources and studies that you've read to further back up your factcheck. Additionally, if you added why blue light makes our brain feel more awake at night it would make ur statement even stronger!

Answer 9

https://www.sbm.org/healthy-living/blue-in-the-face-the-effects-of-blue-light-on-sleep?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA2cu9BhBhEiwAft6IxOkvUxvLcks7wrms_Xnifd5bVtlTjpGkTWnYTjI3ZrgIzt6NdZchCRoCAp4QAvD_BwE

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/are-electronic-devices-impacting-your-sleep

These two other articles seem to prove your claim. They both talk about how blue light affects our circadian rhythm in a negative way. It says we should limit our use of electronics during the time right before bed so that we can have better sleep cycles. I think I could benefit from this for sure I think your claim is factual good work. 

Answer 10

The sources behind this article remain consistent with the claim and seem to be written by organizations that have those with credible education behind them. As far as we know this claim is accurate

Comments

I'd suggest including additional sources that back up this claim and adding additional information on why this claim is true would help further strengthen this! I'd also like to know why these articles are credible and what credible education they have!