Daytime light exposure may be a promising means to combat sleep disturbances associated with evening use of electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets, a new study has claimed.
The use of smartphones and tablet computers during evening hours has previously been associated with sleep disturbances in humans.
The use of blue light emitting devices during evening hours has been shown to interfere with sleep in humans.
In the new study from Uppsala University in Sweden involving 14 young females and males, researchers sought to investigate the effects of evening reading on a tablet computer on sleep following daytime bright light exposure.
"Our main finding was that following daytime bright light exposure, evening use of a self-luminous tablet for two hours did not affect sleep in young healthy students," said Frida Rangtell, PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University.
"Our results could suggest that light exposure during the day, eg by means of outdoor activities or light interventions in offices, may help combat sleep disturbances associated with evening blue light stimulation," said Christian Benedict, associate professor at the Department of Neuroscience.
"Even if not examined in our study, it must however be kept in mind that utilising electronic devices for the sake of checking your work e-mails or social network accounts before snoozing may lead to sleep disturbances as a result of emotional arousal," said Benedict.
The findings were published in the journal Sleep Medicine.
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