Honestly, all people will agree that technology is one of the most useful inventions ever created. And along with the internet, everything is quite possible these days. However, a lot of experts and professionals would not recommend someone to spend a lot of his time engaging in technology. That is primarily on devices that have the potential to harm the well-being of a person such as smartphones. No one would genuinely need a confirmation from a therapist or psychologist that too much usage of this gadget is terrible for someone’s health because the parameters are way too obvious.
The Effects
A lot of people who are in between 18 to 64 fall asleep while holding their smartphones regardless of the study that it can disrupt the body’s biorhythms. People are not concern enough to think that too much usage of it causes the brain to malfunction. With this, we tried collecting terrifying and surprising consequences of too much smartphone usage during the night.
Julia Hogan, LCPC once said that “The amount of sleep you get and the quality of that sleep can actually affect your physical and mental health in ways you don’t anticipate.” It is natural for the body and brain to follow a rhythm or cycle of sleep as well as wakeful state. That is because a complete rest is necessary to bring back the energy of these two so they can function during the day time. However, when there is constant exposure to the light of the smartphone, especially when it is dark, the brain and body feel the same effect of the sun. With that particular instance, the brain starts to decrease its melatonin production. It is the hormones that are essential in keeping the mind and body asleep. When there is a decrease in melatonin, the body’s capability to fight cancer and other diseases also slow down. Therefore, when an individual keeps on using his phone at night, it confuses the brain and thinks that the light is from the day. Thus, it will not sleep. That is the reason why even if the body demands rest, the brain does not allow it.
Another thing that happens when there is too much usage of smartphones at night is the accumulation of toxins in the brain. That is because, during the day, the whole system accumulates neurotoxins or the organic compounds that are lethal to the peripheral and central nervous system. Therefore, even if the human body contains tons of intelligent mechanisms that fight free radicals; it will not quickly get rid of the toxic substances when there is no long phase of rest and sleep. The sleep gets disturbed and broken. As a result, an individual suffers from headache, exhaustion, tiredness, as well as stress. With that, it is vital to get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day. Because otherwise, the body will not get purified from neurotoxins, and the neurons of the brain will not have time to regenerate. The “inability to sleep at night and/or a feeling of detachment could be signs that your anxiety is in fact, a mental health disorder.” Wendy Iglehart MA, LCPC, LLC expresses.
What people do not entirely care about is the brain’s focus to receive new information. That is no wonder it gets overloaded in the morning. It suffers from a difficulty processing everything an individual tries to learn and understand during the day. And since too much usage of the device encourages a harmful effect, it makes the brain lose its potential to retain memory. Therefore, there is a tendency that the already existing information will become harder to remember. The mind becomes untidy and overflowing as well, which makes it harder for it to gather and store additional data. With that particular state, the brain, along with the body, will drastically require extra time and effort only to obtain the desired memory enhanced result.
People also know that too much smartphone usage causes vision disorder where the blue light from the device negatively impacts the eye’s retina. That is when smartphones are being used in the darkness. The eye structures become irritated. The damaging effects are gradual. However, some cases can lead to almost blindness.
The Predictable Reality
“Sleep helps your brain work properly. While you’re sleeping, your brain processes complex stimuli.” Staci Lee Schnell, MS, CS, LMFT said. Perhaps a lot of people would say that they only check their Facebook feed for a couple of minutes before they go to sleep. Or maybe scan some Instagram photos and all. After that, they promise themselves to go back to sleep once all done. But the sad truth is, every time they get to their senses, it is already morning. It means this state makes people captive with their device. That is why they spend more time with their electronic gadgets and sleep fewer at night.