Researchers have revealed in a study that the use of table computers, just before bedtime, can lead to a lack of sleep at night. It has become a habit for people to take their iPads to bed at night and check their emails and social networking updates on last time before they go to sleep, however, the bluish light emitted from the screens prevents users from having a proper night of sleep. The reason behind this phenomenon is that the light emitted from tablets PCs resembles the daylight in features, thereby, convincing the brain that it is still daytime.

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Production of Sleeping Chemical Decreases

The study, published in Applied Ergonomics, reveals that Melatonin, a chemical in the brain, is responsible for making us fall asleep but the blue light coming out from the tablets subdues its production. In contrast, light that is red or orange in nature does not supress the Melatonin production as our brain sees that as a sign of the day ending.

Research Details

Researchers at the Lighting Research Centre, at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, examined melatonin levels in 13 volunteers, after they had spent time viewing iPads at full brightness at a distance of 10 inches, for two hours. Melatonin levels were much lesser than they were after the volunteers had viewed their iPads while wearing orange glasses, which eliminated the blue light.

Dimming the Display Backlight Will Not be a Bad Option

The best solution to avoid insomnia because of tablet use would be to turn off all similar devices before going to sleep. However, it would also not be a bad idea if the display was dimmed as much as possible during time of use in the night. Due to the portability of tablets, smartphones and similar devices, users are inclined to take them to their bed when going to sleep.