New publications

Tablets and cell phones cause sleep disturbances

Alexey Kryvenko, medical expert
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

03 September 2012, 20:19

Can't fall asleep? Then try not to use tablets and mobile phones less than two hours before bedtime.

That's the advice from researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Their findings were published in the journal Applied Ergonomics.

And it’s not a matter of emotional excitement, against which a person cannot plunge into the arms of Morpheus.

It turns out that the bright light emitted by gadget screens is a hindrance. The backlight used in these devices can negatively affect the process of going to sleep.

The fact is that radiation from tablet or mobile phone screens affects the process of producing the main hormone of the pineal gland, the regulator of daily rhythms. This hormone controls the natural daily regime. In the dark, melatonin informs the body about the need to prepare for rest.

Read also:

Using these devices less than two hours before bedtime reduces melatonin production by 22%.

"The brighter and larger the screen and the closer you bring it to your eyes, the more negatively short-wave light affects melatonin, the "regulator of the internal clock," warns Professor Mariana Figueroa, an employee of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. - The smaller the device, the less harm it does. However, it is better to refrain from using any gadgets immediately before bedtime, because in any case, they delay your sleep.

In addition, according to doctors, the use of gadgets can lead not only to disruptions in daily rhythms, but also increases the chances of developing obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes. Chronic sleep disorders are also dangerous and increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

If you still can’t imagine how you can fall asleep without picking up your mobile phone or tablet first, then try to follow the recommendations of experts so as not to harm your body and not walk around the whole day tired and exhausted from a sleepless night.

Buy a protective filter. At the moment, protective filters are among the most popular accessories, because they provide reliable protection for the user from a wide range of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones, without reducing the quality of communication.
Keep your distance. Progress does not stand still, and IT manufacturers regularly supply the consumer market with new advanced devices, but unfortunately, our health does not improve from this. A sedentary lifestyle is already a trigger for many diseases. But we often forget what kind of strain our eyes endure every day. Remember this more often and keep a safe distance from monitors, which is at least 60 centimeters.
Set a specific bedtime. Set a specific time for yourself to go to bed and try to stick to this schedule as closely as possible. Often, users of various gadgets are so carried away that after picking up a phone or tablet for five minutes, they can stay with them for hours.
A book before bed. There is no need to talk about the benefits of reading – it develops thinking, reduces stress, improves concentration, calms down and many other useful things. Also among the benefits of reading a book… its soporific effect. Systematic reading of books before bed becomes a kind of signal, saying that it is time to rest.