{"id":484,"date":"2024-03-21T14:12:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T14:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isleepsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=484"},"modified":"2024-07-11T14:13:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:13:10","slug":"how-cell-phones-affect-sleep-apnea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isleepsolutions.com\/blog\/how-cell-phones-affect-sleep-apnea\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Not Disturb: How Cell Phones Affect Sleep Apnea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Picture this: it\u2019s late in the evening, and you\u2019re ready to go to bed. Unfortunately, you\u2019re not feeling sleepy just yet, so you pick up your phone or tablet to peruse your favorite social media site for a few minutes until you start dozing. But for some reason, it doesn’t seem to help. Sound familiar? This is a common scenario for many people, but what they may not realize is that in an effort to make themselves feel drowsy by scrolling their electronic devices, they are actually doing the opposite. Worse yet, for those with sleep apnea<\/a>, this kind of disruption isn\u2019t just exhausting, it can be downright dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Dangers of Blue Light<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, why does staring at a screen keep you awake instead of lulling you to sleep? It\u2019s because of the blue light emitted from your device. Though synthetic, this light emulates the blue light we get from the sun. Now, during the day this is no problem. In fact, blue light is beneficial because it helps signal your body to stop producing melatonin and keeps you awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the sun goes down, however, your melatonin production increases, giving your brain the thumbs up to fall asleep. But if you\u2019re looking at a screen that omits blue light when your body should be producing melatonin, naturally you\u2019re going to struggle to get some quality shut eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Light and Sleep Apnea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you have a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, struggling to stay asleep is par for the course. That\u2019s because each night your body can experience numerous episodes (known as apneas) that cause you to stop breathing, wake briefly to restart breathing, and fall back asleep again. This cycle can then repeat itself often hundreds of times throughout the night. Worse still, even if you can fall asleep at a reasonable time and sleep for eight hours, you will not have quality sleep, and will likely still feel exhausted when you wake up the next morning. This can have a domino effect of chaos on your daily life, ranging from cognitive impairment like drowsy driving to stress, anxiety, and depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, factor in the added sleep challenges caused by decreased melatonin production from blue light, and you\u2019re setting yourself up for a restless night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Avoid Excess Blue Light Exposure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While it can be difficult to avoid blue light entirely these days, there are still ways to reduce your exposure even if putting the phone down is impossible. Here are a few suggestions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n