Is Technology Stealing Your Sleep?

My article discusses how using electronics before you go to bed can affect your sleeping. ­­­­The National Sleep Foundation recently took a poll and discovered that 95% of Americans use an electronic device before sleeping. Teens are shown to be more likely to use electronics before bed than their parents (about 2 times more likely). Most teens text people right before they sleep, and some people have done this so much that they have begun to have issues with texting while sleeping.

Using an electronic device can have numerous effects on your sleep. The screens on electronics produce light which can prevent your body from producing melatonin, which is a hormone that helps control sleep and is naturally produced when you’re in the dark. It is also difficult for you to relax if you use these devices before bed and you won’t be able to fall asleep easily. The author of this article also states that “the bedroom should be a sanctuary reserved for sleep,” so you shouldn’t bring electronic devices in there with you.

To prevent sleep deprivation caused by the use of electronic devices it is recommended that everyone has an “electronic curfew.” Teens should have limited use of their cellphones before bed and putting your electronic devices such as phone and computer in another room before bed can help.

Do you typically use electronic devices within an hour before you go to sleep? Do you think it’s easier to fall asleep when you don’t use electronics before bed?

Is Technology Stealing Your Sleep?

In the article,"Is Technology Stealing Your Sleep" by Michael J. Breus Ph.D it mainly stated that technology infers with people's sleep. 

In addition to this, there was a poll from the National Sleep Foundation that was taken that concluded that 95% of Americans use some kind of technology within an hour before they head to sleep. Not only this but it was also said that teenagers are twice as likely to than their parents to use technologies such as their cellular phones within that hour before they go to sleep. 

According to the article, they state that people should set an electronic curfew however a number of people wont follow through with doing so but it would increase the amount of sleep you recieve nightly.

Question: Do you belive that using technology before bed can affect the amount of sleep you get?

Dumb and Tired? Sleep helps on both accounts

Researchers already know that sleep can help us manage stress and improve health but it can also make you smarter. Science Big Wig stated that sleep can help us store and reorganize new info and memories so we can use them when we wake up.

Researchers at the University of York found out that sleep helps people remember and incorporate new info. To prove this a study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience identifying brain activity during sleep that help organize memories. A study was done where the participants were taught new words then took a test.

Then they went to sleep and their brain activity was studied. In the morning those participants remembered more words than the day before. Of course most people have problems falling asleep because of stress and other factors but there are ways to help that.

My question to you is....Do you think getting enough sleep contributes to a better memory and retaining information? Does getting enough sleep help you in school?

Teens,Sleeping, and Eating...

In the article "Teens Sleeping and Eating" the author talks about the links between teens sleeping habits and eating. The article was about teens that sleep less on average eat more then teens that are getting the recommended time each night. 

The scientists have found that teens that sleep less hours then their bodies need have a greater craving for fatty foods and sugary snacks. Researchers found out that for one hour more of sleep, the odds of eating or drinking high amounts of calories decrease by about twenty percent which will lower the chance of gaining weight. By teens sleeping less they are messing with their metabolisms which it slows down and it’s a gateway to weight gain and over time obesity.

What are your eating habits like and Do you think that sleep really has an effect on ones weight over time?

Sleep Deprivation, Social Networking and Drugs

A recent study from Harvard showed a connection between the lack of sleep in teens, social networking and drugs. 

It showed that on networking sites, people connected with marijuana through every 4 people.  Also, the lack of sleep within teenagers which may be caused by social networking led to a higher use in drugs, especially cocaine, ecstasy and heroine. 

Do you believe there is a connection between the lack of sleep, social networking and the use of drugs?

Sleep talking, sleep eatin, sleep dreamin.. I Just wanna sleep

Sleep talking is one of a number of unusual sleep behaviors known as non-rapid eye movement sleep parasomnias. Other forms of NREM parasomnias include sleep eating, sleep walking, confusional arousals, night terrors.

The different stages of sleep are characterized by distinct brain wave patterns, as well as by differences in other physiologic parameters, such as muscle tone, eye movement, heart rate, breathing rate and patterns, and blood pressure. NREM parasomnias are frequent when a person is sleep deprived,or when one is sleeping in a strange location (such as a hotel room)

The question here is why do you believe you sleep talk or dream? Do you sleep talk/dream or any of your family? They say it happens in a strange location such as a hotel room, why do you think the setting influences your chance of sleeptalking?

Do Animals Dream?

We have discovered that in humans we do most of our dreaming during REM sleep. We have also discovered that cats like humans have REM sleep where there is a loss of muscle tone, low voltage EEG with characteristic eye movements.

What I ask you is if you believe that cats dream during REM just like humans?

Sleeping

Many have sleeping problems. Students who are awake really late have a hard time to get out of the bed in the morning. Many are lazy to get out because they are tired. Men and women needs to get different duration of hours to sleep. There is an increase in risk for breast cancer for those who sleep for 9 hours.

Do you think sleeping could affect you?