Many iPad owners agree it's a great tool to stay abreast of books, movies,
music, games, apps and web content anytime, day or night.
Because the iPad is a constant companion to many, can it cause sleep apnea
and sleep deprivation?
Researchers have studied users to determine if long periods of usage can
affect melatonin and sleep patterns at night. Melatonin is the hormone that
controls sleep and wake cycles, called circadian rhythms.
According to new research and findings in the journal "Applied Ergonomics",
some iPad, iPad2 and Asus owners may be affected by the light emitted from
their tablet and are not getting proper sleep.
Mariana Figueiro, an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, and her team of researchers say "using these tablets for two
hours on their brightest setting suppressed melatonin by about 22 percent."
The iPad and iPad2 were designed to emit bright light and researchers are
reporting that that bright light may affect the melatonin level in the body.
"If they are bright and they are big and are close to your eyes, they have
more potential to disrupt your melatonin than the TV, which is usually
farther away," says researcher Mariana Figueiro.
The iPad users
PHWEEK interviewed all had different usage
levels and opinions about whether they were losing sleep because of it. Some
used the iPad while watching TV, en route to work on bus or train, to check
email, sports updates, podcasts and to watch movies on Netflix. Some
admitted to getting "no sleep" when the iPad is in the bedroom, to being
awakened briefly at night and using it if they cannot go back to sleep.
Some users say while they frequently access the iPad, it is not allowed in
the bedroom.
"I rarely touch the iPad in the bedroom," says Jimmy Clanton, interim web
developer for the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Clanton says
there is always a link between the TV and iPad when at home.
Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of
Oxford, disagrees with Figueiro and her team of scientists.
Foster indicated melatonin levels were not a good way to predict how much
sleep someone will get.
"The relationship between melatonin and sleep is completely flawed," he
said. "Melatonin is not a sleep hormone -- what it does is provide a
biological representation of the dark. There is no empirical evidence that
suggests that lower levels of melatonin will have a direct effect on sleep
axis."
"In Figueiro's study, the participants experienced light exposure levels
that ranged from 5 to 50 lux." According to Foster, "a person would need
around 500 to 1,000 lux to shift their circadian clocks."
Bryan K. Lindsey, Ph.D, MPPA, senior public health advisor at the Centers
for Disease Control, accesses his iPad as a personal assistant. "I can keep
up with news, e-mail and personal and professional calendars."
Lindsey says if he wakes up at night, he does reach for the iPad if he
cannot go back to sleep. He is one of the millions of users who take the
tablet everywhere, carrying it to work, social meetings, and church.
Tammy Beasley, DPH interim executive assistant, says she uses her iPad about
45 minutes a day and three times a week when she is away from her desktop.
"When I am in the bedroom, I take the iPad to check email and other personal
business transactions," said Beasley. "The iPad is placed close to the bed,
but if I wake up at night, I do not access it."
Figueiro and other researchers advise that if you must take the gadgets to
bed with you, consider four ways to reclaim your sleep space: invest in a
filter, dim the lights, distance yourself from your tablet and impose an
e-curfew.
A blogger shares this advice from her sleep therapist: "Anyone who has
severe trouble sleeping will already know this. Many sleep therapists
recommend that you completely disengage from media before you go to sleep.
Reading news stories, working, or watching videos can keep your brain
active, preventing you from nodding off."
-Story by Connie F. Smith, DPH Communications
