Impact of Smartphones on Health

                                                              Impact of Smartphones on Health

 

Everyone loves browsing the phone before going to bed. Whether browsing for any news or playing games, using smartphones before bedtime not only affects your vision but also imply severe repercussions to your health. The blue light emitting from the phone is known to affect physical and mental health. Blue light is associated with full light spectrum, which is generally available from the sun on a daily basis. However, when such type of light is exposed at night, it can damage your vision. It suppresses the hormone production that can disturb the normal sleep cycle. While body will have no adverse effects for the shorter duration of the disturbed sleep cycle, a regular habit of disturbed sleep can impact mental health and even invite a lot of ailments.

• Direct light from the phones in low lighting condition can damage your retina. Persistent damage to the retina may cause macular degeneration, which in turn can affect central vision. However, there are not enough studies to support the claim as each electronic device may work differently.

• While not entirely concrete, the light emitted by the phone is directly linked to cataracts. Blue light is known to have severe side effects and some of the studies have made a discovery that continuous use of phones may lead to cataracts.

• Perhaps, the biggest concern of using the phone is the damage caused to the sleep cycle. Exposure to blue light can affect the production of melatonin hormone, which helps to control the sleeping habits. The brain initiates the production of melatonin during the night and blue light disrupts the production process, ultimately affecting the sleep cycle. Use of phones before sleep may cause depression, obesity, and even memory issues.

• The hormone melatonin not only regulates sleep but also works as an antioxidant. Antioxidants function on inhibiting the oxidation process that can damage cells. Lack of melatonin can increase the chance of causing cancer mainly prostate and breast, though much study is required to support the hypothesis.

• Suppressed levels of melatonin also target mental ability to function properly. Common conditions like depression and anger can be easily triggered in the absence of melatonin, hence using the phone before bed may lead to such mental conditions.

 

Impact of Smartphones on Health