Excessive gadget use leads to sleeplessness: Doctors

Chennai: Ashok, a 20-year-old graduate from a reputed college in the city confessed, once he was addicted to gadgets and lost many good nights' sleep.

He recollected how he had to fight his own body to wake up early morning for school after staying up late into night reading a Japanese comic, available online. Only when he was diagnosed with insomnia, a sleep disorder, he woke up to the reality that he hardly slept for 4 hours a night for years together.

Doctors from the city say that Ashok is not alone in this state of sleeplessness. Many children and adults are deprived of an average 8-9 hours of sleep as the use of gadgets has steadily increased. "Use of mobile phones at night affects our eyes and changes our sleeping pattern", says Dr Prashant, paediatrician, Kauvery hospital. "Continuous movement of pictures and colour changes on screen creates excitement in the mind and it makes the brain run faster than a relaxed one, which prevents a sound sleep".  

Many youngsters contacted by DC said that they often get less than five hours of sleep a night. "When I post a comment or picture on FB, I wait for the response from people. Each alert wakes me up and forces me to grab the phone, which in turn leads to another few hours of browsing, says Sanjeev Kumar, an IT professional. "Sufficient sleep is essential for good physical and mental health. Logging off may be one important step toward securing a good night's sleep", Dr Bharathi Visveswaran, a psychiatrist from Apollo hospitals.

"Most of the children aged between 3 and 12 years have poor concentration levels and are drowsy through the day", observes a teacher from the city. "Sleep maintains body's temperature regulation, conserves body's energy and hormonal regulation apart from secreting growth hormone. Sleep recharges our body", she added. While the short-term impact of disrupted sleep in children may not be a cause of serious concern, in the long run, doctors say it could lead to hypertension and depression.

Any type of screen use during the day or in the hour before bedtime seems to disrupt sleep. Anyone who doesn't have the required sleep feels lethargic and inactive and it negatively affects their activities during the day. Insomnia affects adults as much as it affects children only the scale in this case is higher. "It is important to do regular physical exercise and maintain sleep hygiene. This cannot be achieved overnight. It happens over a period. The easiest way is to target the waking time instead of sleeping time", concludes Dr Bharathi.