introduction
Technology has really helped me to improve in so many ways of my life but unfortunately technology has negatively affected a very important aspect of my life which is my sleep.
Do you know that I can be on my phone for over 6 hours without doing any other thing and this often happens when it's time for me to get to bed most night I'll be awake till 2:00 a.m. on my phone and this really have a negative effect on my health.
I'm sure I'm not the only one facing this challenge, in this our digital era the use of smartphones laptops have become our life partner that goes to bed with us everyday and this have negatively affected the sleeping time of so many youths.
Is sleep important?
The benefit of sleep.
A friend of mine said "I've been sleeping all my life so it doesn't matter if I reduce my allotted sleeping time and use it for something else better" and I'm thinking of what is better than having a full sleep.
Now let's talk about some psychological aspect of sleep.
Sleep is a bit complex because it is influenced by many Factor which includes neurotransmitters, circadians and rhythm, and there are different stage of sleep like the sleep wake circle which is often control by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain that quickly responds to light and darkness and with this the body gets to know when to wake up and went to sleep.
Melatonin does the job of regulating the sleepwake circle by responding to darkness and sending signal to the body to sleep and also responding to light and also sending signal to the body to wake up.
How does technology alter the effect or the activity of melatonin in the system?
Whenever you are using your laptop or phone you are exposed to artificial light that often suppresses the production of melatonin and makes it harder for your body to fall asleep especially when smartphones or laptops are used during bedtime as well as watching TV shows during bedtime.
Due to excessive use of technology some people now struggle to get a good quality of sleep and these has increased the urge of checking our devices in order to respond to emails or WhatsApp message even when the body is sending a shut down signal.
Effects of Excessive use of technology.
Excessive use of technology do not just affect sleeping it also has so many other effects in the system that is why is very important to find a balance.
Overuse of technology overloads the brain and also overworks the brain, someone might just feel he's just scrolling but as he is scrolling the brain is processing what he is scrolling, so overuse of technology can reduce and discourage critical analysis and critical thinking that is why so many people are relying on surface level wisdom.
Overuse of technology weakens the cognitive activities thereby decreasing productivity, technology encourages multitasking and this primarily overwhelms the brain decreasing his attention span and making it difficult for one to focus on one task.
Technology has a negative effect on social impact because it reduces face-to-face interaction which is the key factor of building healthy relationship and this have resulted to increase rate of loneliness depression anxiety it has also affected how people view themselves (low esteem).
When some people visit the hospital with the complaint of back pain neck pain headache eye strain all these are result of excessive use of technology and some have been so unfortunate that they develop a type of growth in their brain due to excess use of technology.
Now let's go back to how technology affects sleep.
Sleep deprivation can result to so many health problems like obesity cardiovascular disease it can also weaken the immune system which is the basis of fighting against disease in the body, also deprivation of sleep can as well cause obesity lead to memory loss and many other health problems.
Tips to avoid sleep deprivation.
In as much as we need technology to do so many things that has positive effects in our lives and in the community we should also try as much as we count to avoid excessive use of technology that can deprive us our sleep.
Try Digital detox.
It is very important to practice digital detox from time to time, just map out a particular day in a week when you will avoid the use of technology disconnect anything screen and reconnect physical world, though it is something very difficult but determination will help one achieve this set goal and work hard to track your progress.
Digital detox definitely helps to improve mental ability to think and to achieve it this is very important to replace the screen time with reading of books and engaging in some other physical hobbies.
Create bedtime routine.
Creating a bedtime routine can be a little bit difficult but that is the best way to stop sleep the privation it is very important to set a time for sleep and never allow anything to alter it or change it the constant in the routine, sometimes there might be difficulty in getting some sleep so it's advised to try one better before going to bed read some novels while you wait for sleep, disable notification of your phone's laptop 2 hours before going to bed and keep those gadgets away from your bed also make your bed comfortable reduce noise and keep room temperature normal, this will help the body to relax and build melatonin naturally.
Conclusion.
The use of technology is very important but excessive use of it can cause some health problems, so lets try as much as we can not to allow technology deprive us from having a healthy sleep.