Overexposure to light at night, commonly due to binge-watching on gadgets, is the biggest cause of sleep disorders

Uninterrupted sleep is essential for good health; (Photo: Getty Images | Klaus Vedfelt)

Ever felt lethargic and dull after a night of web-series binge? Or are bright streetlights keeping you awake despite a long day at work? Experts will say it is the light that is preventing you from sleeping well. As city streets get flooded with light and gadgets stay on throughout the night, people are getting less than healthy amounts of sleep.

“Artificial light impacts the quality of sleep and, in the long term, overall health. It is a problem of modern living,” says Dr Niket Kasar, director and consultant psychiatrist at Pune’s Mind Aid Psychometry Lab, and president of the Indian Psychiatric Society, Pune. Light, he explains, is the key regulator of the brain’s biological sleep cycle. “We have a suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain, which regulates most circadian rhythms in the body. It regulates sleep rhythm and the sleep-wake cycle. Light regulates this suprachiasmatic nucleus.”

Here are some ways to get your peaceful sleep back:

Turn it off: Light is the key culprit for sleep loss. “When exposed to light, the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of our sleep cycle or slow wave sleep reduces,” says Dr Kasar. With the quality of sleep impacted, people tend to wake up feeling lethargic, dull or unwell. “We experience cognitive dulling and an inability to think or recall when the REM sleep or slow wave sleep gets disturbed. And light is a major cause,” he says.

Sleep well to stay healthy: Beauty experts say inadequate sleep will lead to dark circle and under-eye bags. But the benefits of sleep extend beyond cosmetic uses. “We have physiological processes going on in our body during sleep. Inadequate sleep increases insulin resistance, which leads to an increase in sugar levels and then diabetes. Similarly, in sleep deprived people, the heart rate increases from the average 60-70 heartbeats per minute. Sleep also affects the autonomic nervous system, which can then impact digestion and other body functions,” says Dr Kasar.

Shut the gadgets: The human brain holds a pea-sized gland called the pineal gland, which produces melatonin, also called the ‘sleep hormone’. The pineal gland receives information about the light-dark cycle from the environment and produces melatonin. The light emitted from gadgets affects melatonin production. “Melatonin is the most important hormone for sleep. Its production begins in the evening and peaks at 3 am. It helps us fall asleep and maintain sleep. The blue light which comes from screens reduces production of melatonin. To avoid that, we must switch off three to four hours before bedtime,” says Dr Kasar.

Give web series a miss: The lockdown and work-from-home arrangements saw several people coming to a sleep therapist’s office with complaints. “There has been a big rise in cases of disturbed sleep or even the sleep cycle getting reversed,” says Dr Kasar. Binge-watching OTT shows or mindlessly scrolling phones for news and social media updates have resulted in poor quality sleep.

Identify and treat early: Watch for signs of inadequate sleep and seek professional help. Doctors recommend a sleep hygiene programme, which includes lifestyle modification, medicines and motivation-based behavioural change.

Subscribe to India Today Magazine