February 20, 2014 
Working on a computer in the evening hours ‘deceives’ the brain into thinking that it is day time…
Insomnia caused by the use of laptops and smart phones before bedtime is the result of neurophysiological and neurochemical changes in the brain, says an ophthalmologist Anđelko Parać from the Polyclinic Sunce. Does this mean that we need to turn off all electronics before bedtime to get a good night sleep?
Excessive use of electronic devices
Computer, television and mobile phone are just some of the technological advances available today for everybody. Surfing the web late at night, reading books on an electronic reader for hours or sending text messages to friends are now a part of our everyday life, and five-year-old children already have access to video games in the bedroom.
It has long been known that for a good night sleep we need to relax and calm down before going to bed. But the question is – does the excessive use of electronics have consequences on our peaceful sleep?
Monitors deceive the brain
Ophthalmologist from the Polyclinic Sunce, Dr. Andjelko Parać, claims that insomnia, caused by the use of a laptops, smart phones or LCD monitors before bedtime, is primarily a result of the neurophysiological and neurochemical changes in the brain, while the eyes are only ‘a camera’ that transmits signals to the central nervous system.
”The use of computers at night time is quite widespread today. The brain is in evolutionary terms ‘obsolete’ and works in a different ‘ mode’ during daytime and night time. The blue part of the spectrum is characteristic of daylight and occurs with the sunrise, and gradually decreases as the sun sets down. Today’s LCD monitors emit more of the blue part of the spectrum than ordinary lamps and in such way the use of computers late at night ‘deceives’ brain into thinking that it is daytime, instead of night. This causes changes in the production of melatonin, which is why we have trouble with falling asleep.
”Of course, the central nervous system is even more activated in cases when the brain is actively involved (playing games, searching the website), than in the case of passive activities such as watching television, for example.” Doctor Parać argues that there is a possibility of reducing emissions of blue part of the light spectrum by the use screen filters, glasses with orange filters or adjustment of brightness, i.e. switching to black and white ‘mode’.
Causal relationship between insomnia and monitor
Specialist ophthalmologist Dr Igor Petriček from the Eye Clinic of Ophthalmology on the Medical Faculty in Zagreb (KBC Zagreb) believes that the concepts of cause and effect are often confused in the case of associating insomnia with excessive exposure of the eyes to the computer screen. ”I think that people are sitting more in front of a computer because they have insomnia, and not that they have it because of the work on the computer. After all, people who cannot sleep also read before bedtime. Most of the people sitting at the computer at night generally does not work but surf the web or play games, so the possible job stress has no effect there.”
A front-end specialist Davor Katona Šesto agrees with him, and he also spends most of his day in front of a computer because of the nature of the work he does. His job is to know all aspects of displaying any kind of information on the website, including the programming of interfaces, knowing the display on desktop computers, cell phones, tablets and such, all of which requires a lot of concentration to notice details. Although, for the last 10 years he has been professionally associated with working on the computer, he claims that he has not spotted its association with insomnia.
Headache, burning and redness of the eyes
”Like in any other business that may not involve a computer, when things get difficult and solution cannot be immediately found, I think about it before sleep. If an idea occurs to me, I get up and go to the computer in order to solve the problem. This in particular refers to the situations when there is a specific time limit when the work should be finished, and then I can see the problem with sleeping. However, I must emphasize again that this has nothing to do with the computer since it is only a tool that I use for work”, says Katona Šesto.
Although, he does not associate working in front of a computer screen with restless sleep, he noticed how sometimes he feels a slight headache.” I also try to take a walk every two hours, get some fresh air and in such way rest my eyes. I feel a burning sensation in my eyes every time I need to concentrate on details, and I must admit that after about 5-6 hours of such work, I often become short-sighted and need to get closer to the monitor.”
Taken from: www.zdravakrava.hr