A study over at America’s National Sleep Foundation has suggested that exposure to electronics – including gaming, obviously – is responsible for general increases in sleeplessness, as well as a significant impact on personal productivity, mood, sex drive, and more.
A third of 13-18 year-old respondents and 28 percent of 19-29 year olds said they played video games before bedtime. Interestingly, the effects seem to be more damaging to the younger crowd, with 22 percent of them describing themselves as “sleepy”; only nine percent of the 46-64 demographic described themselves as such.
“Unfortunately, cell phones and computers, which make our lives more productive and enjoyable, may be abused to the point that they contribute to getting less sleep at night leaving millions of Americans functioning poorly the next day,” says NSF vice chairman Russell Rosenberg. (Also, non-Americans.)
Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School explains that exposure to artificial light before bed increases alertness and suppresses the release of sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.
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