PC gaming
PC gaming is believed to be one of the reasons why the Western world is becoming a sleepless society. Computer games and possibly use of smartphones and tablets in the evening can be described as an international pastime for many children and young people. Close to 75% of teenage boys play computer games to a lesser or greater extent. This can disrupt the circadian rhythm, which can lead to insomnia, less sleep, poor sleep quality and deterioration of health and mental abilities.
Description
There is a difference between watching TV or playing PC games or using social media on your smartphone or tablet.
It is now quite common to fall asleep in front of the TV in the evening. Watching a film or a TV programme is defined as passive activity. You only need to occasionally use the remote control to change channels.
PC games, on the other hand, promote a high level of interaction and may even entail social obligation to continue playing well into the night.
Thus, PC games have more in common with social media than watching TV. It can be almost impossible to resist the temptation to respond to the two-way communication that comes from certain PC games, SMS, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok and SnapChat. It can be a big challenge to get your sleep, especially when you take into account that 90% of young people between the ages of 19 and 29 keep their mobile phone on the bedside table.
PC games and dreams are both a form of alternative reality. There is a clear connection between PC games and our dream life. The sleep researcher Jayne Gackenbach has shown that avid PC gamers tend to be able to control their dreams more than those who do not play PC games. It is difficult to know whether this greater ability to control dreams is an advantage or a disadvantage in terms of the sleep experience.
Although it can be difficult to say exactly how PC games affect our sleep, common sense should tell us that too much stimulation before bed is likely to disturb sleep.
Blue light and sleep
We also know that the blue light from TV, PCs, tablets and smartphones in the evening has a physiological effect on our bodies. The blue light prevents our brain from producing the signalling substance melatonin (sleep hormone), which helps us fall asleep. Modern LED lighting, TV, PCs and smartphones emit a high concentration of blue light.
Based on the research that has already been carried out, it would probably be wise to stop PC games and use of social media 1-2 hours before our normal bedtime.
Playing PC games before and after bedtime will impair your health, energy and mental abilities. Researchers have carried out several experiments regarding the effect of PC games before bed.
PC gaming and sleep glasses
A small trial was carried out in Switzerland in 2016 on young men with sleep glasses from MelaMedic, in which wearers of sleep glasses fell asleep faster and more easily than those who did not wear sleep glasses.
Sleep glasses can help children and young people who use PCs, tablets and smartphones to fall asleep more easily. If they use sleep glasses for 1-2 hours before bed, then their brain will start the production of melatonin and they will gradually become sleepier, or will fall asleep much faster and more easily at bedtime.