Help! My iPad is Keeping Me Awake!
There is no way to ignore the tremendous popularity that the Apple iPad has achieved in a very short time on the market. The week the iPad was launched, the excitement that people showed was equivalent to the coming of a rock star to town or the launch of a hugely anticipated new movie. Of course, the good folks at Apple were pretty happy to see their marketing do so well. But it wasn’t just marketing that made the iPad a sensation. It is a genuinely new approach to the mobile computing marketplace and clearly it either filled an existing need in the market or it created a new one.
Since the iPad has hit the market, reviewers and early users have begun to notice some of the shortcomings of the technology. This is to be expected because all new technology goes through a time of evolution as something very good is refined and perfected until it is something great. One troubling drawback of the iPad that is just beginning to get noticed is how the light from it can be disturbing to users even more so than other digital devises that we are all used to using.
If you aren’t sleeping well it may be due to the artificial light that your iPad gives off. There are many experts out there that believe such strong lighting plays a role in affecting a person’s internal clock. In fact, it may be responsible for resetting it and that is why your sleep may be taking a hit.
If your ability to achieve a restful sleep is being disturbed in this way, you may begin to get sleepy during other times of the day when you need to be awake. If you are about to fall asleep during an important business meeting or when you are with clients then it can seriously affect your job too. Maybe even a greater concern is how this kind of technology may affect the sleep of young people who love their iPads. If a child or teenager cannot get a good night's sleep because of how the light the iPad emits disturbs them, that can affect them at school and have a negative impact on their health.
The type of lighting that the Ipad offers is very different than when you read paperback books. When you read a paper document, you are using the natural lighting of the room or from sunlight to illuminate the page. This is how the eyes are accustomed to working. But when you enjoy an ebook using your iPad, the lighting comes from the pad shining at your eyes directly. It is like one of those lights the ophthalmologist uses to peer into your eyes except it is not as strong but it is continuous. If you read something on your iPad for a while, that can affect your eyes and even how your brain patterns work.
While you may absolutely love your iPad and what it allows you to accomplish during the day, it could be keeping you awake at night. You can try your own experimentations with this to find out. Turn off your iPad as well as other devices that give off light once the sun goes down. By sleeping in a perfectly dark room, you give your sleep cycles the change to work through properly and you will sleep more soundly.
Chances are you will find that you are able to go to sleep several hours sooner. You will also find that you are able to stay asleep longer and without interruptions. That is very important too because if you lie down for 8 hours but really only sleep for 6 of them then you can wake up sleep deprived.
In fact, you may find that other people notice positive changes in your behavior. You may be friendlier at the office or with getting your kids off to school. You may be more alert when it comes to making quick decisions. If you have a job that relies on creativity you may become an employee that has great ideas everyone else is talking about. Above all, you will be healthier, happier and more relaxed because you didn't let your iPad keep you up at night.
It might be a little trickier to get your youngster to power down their iPads at night. Kids love to pull their technology into bed with them and stay up far too late talking on their cell phones or playing with digital toys online. But for the health of your kids, set up some rules that they must live by if they are going to enjoy their iPads and other digital equipment. You may set the rule that all technology is shut completely off and put in a family closet that is not in their room when the lights go off to go to sleep. There will be some resistance to these rules but if you buy the toys, you make the rules. And you are doing it for their own good even if the kids don't see it that way.
Technology can be a great benefit to us, but not if it is depriving you of your basic needs. It is important to get a good night of rest for both your body and your mind. Your mood, your ability to concentrate, and even your weight can be affected by a lack of sleep. Studies show that even if you feel fine on little sleep or interrupted sleep your overall state of mind suffers.
There could be a link there regarding this lack of sleep and some mental health disorders. The fact that we continue to rely on more electronic gadgets than ever before could be a huge part of what causes those kinds of sleep disorders. Before you rush out the door to go shop for an iPad or other electronic item you need to fully evaluate your sleep situation.
If you feel that you really do need an Ipad, make some limitations with it as we have discussed. For example commit to shutting it and other electronics including your computer off by 8 pm. Then you have time to unwind before you go off to bed. If you are using such devices right up to the moment your head hits the pillow it could prevent you from sleeping well. By making human interaction with your family the last thing you do before sleeping, you will sleep better. And if you can have great sleep and still enjoy new technology within the rules, that is a good lifestyle to keep up.
Filed Under: Mobile Computing • Real World Computing
