Why you shouldn’t blame blue light for your sleep issues

Most of us know what to do (and what not do) when it comes to being healthy. Knowing doesn’t make the doing any easier, though. You probably feel a twinge of guilt when you do something you probably shouldn’t, like scrolling through your phone before bed.

Traditional research says exposure to the blue light that devices like smartphones or televisions emit before bedtime can suppress the body’s release of melatonin, the natural hormone that aids sleep. Blue light makes our brain think it’s daytime, disrupting our circadian rhythms and making it harder to drift off.

But is blue light really the cause of your sleep issues? Not necessarily, says Mike Gradisar, PhD, head of sleep science for Sleep Cycle, an AI-driven sleep analysis app.

“The effect of screens has been greatly exaggerated,” he says. “It had been the model for 12 or 13 years and the biggest problem was having this assumption that technology use causes sleep issues. We became aware of studies showing that sleep issues start to influence people’s use of technology in the other direction.”

Blue Light and Sleep

Working with fellow sleep researchers, Gradisar explored whether technology use causes sleep issues or sleep issues cause more technology use. Their research, published in Sleep Medicine Reviews, provides a comprehensive review of the relationship between technology and sleep.

One of the areas of exploration looked at the impact blue light has on someone’s ability to fall asleep. Instead of causing you to stay awake for hours, as previously stated, Gradisar’s research found a study conducted in Switzerland that shows technology use causes a minimal delay. Researchers tested the difference between reading an e-book versus a printed book in dim light. After five consecutive nights, it took the e-book readers just 9.9 minutes more to fall asleep.

“The impact from screens on sleep is minimal and often overstated,” says Gradisar. “The difference is considered negligible.”

Another area Gradisar looked at was the impact on sleep according to the type of content consumed. Watching an action movie or playing an intense video game, such as Call of Duty, has been negatively linked to your ability to sleep. According to Gradisar, various types of content had little to no effect on sleep quality as long as the individual maintained a regular bedtime.

“We had teenagers play Call of Duty in the hour before bed versus watching TV and didn’t see much of an effect there,” says Gradisar.

Finally, Gradisar looked at the intensity of the light emitted from phones and televisions to gauge whether it could disrupt sleep. The brightest screens did not exceed 80 lux, which is much lower than the 500-lux level used to aid with changing sleep timing.

What Matters More than Tech

Technology is a convenient scapegoat for many of today’s issues. Still, Gradisar, a clinical psychologist who treats sleep issues, says most sleep problems can be attributed to irregular and inconsistent sleep habits.

“If someone has sleep problems, they’re going to fall asleep later,” he explains. “What we observed is that people are just waiting for sleep to happen. They’re either bored or they’re anxious, worried about what they’re going to do tomorrow. They may also reflect on some bad things that happened during the day. The way they cope with it is to reach for their phone and distract themselves.”

The biggest sleep issue for people in their teens and 20s is that their biological rhythms are naturally delayed, and they’re unaware of that. Instead of avoiding screen time before bed, Gradisar recommends bright light therapy in the morning to adjust the circadian rhythm.

Other factors

In addition, pay attention to alcohol consumption. “Research shows that alcohol is one of the worst sleep toxins that we use,” says Gradisar. “It actually disrupts our sleep quality.”

That nightly glass (or two) of wine may help you drift off faster, but it will not allow you to go through the natural sleep cycles you need to wake feeling refreshed.

Finally, having a consistent bedtime is critical to getting quality sleep. While some people are good at regulating themselves by stopping their screen time and getting sleep, others push the boundaries, says Gradisar.

“It’s not the content; it’s about the individual,” he says. “Some people get into a flow state and become immersed into their activity and lose track of time. This can impact your bedtime, which has a massive impact on sleep compared to blue light.”

While this new research on technology use and sleep is good news for anyone who sleeps with their phones or the television on, it’s not an invitation to doomscroll before bed, says Gradisar.

“It’s not a free pass for everybody to ignore the impact of technology,” he says. “But there are definitely ways you can consume technology in a safe way and still sleep fine.”