From checking emails first thing in the morning to watching TV before bed at night, our devices are an integral part of our daily lives from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. Unfortunately, this can mean that we are doing ourselves a disservice when it comes to not only our sleeping habits but our overall health and weight.
In a study from June 2021 published in Scientific reports, a group of 10 adult males were exposed to LEDs, organic LEDs (OLEDs) or low light four hours before falling asleep in a metabolic chamber, where they were monitored by researchers.
The researchers found that subjects exposed to LED lights experienced a significant reduction in their ability to burn fat while sleeping.
“Although no effect on sleep architecture was observed, energy expenditure and nuclear body temperature during sleep decreased significantly after OLED exposure. In addition, fat oxidation during sleep was significantly lower after exposure to LED compared to OLED,” said Kumpei Tokuyama, MD, professor at the School of Health and Medical. sports science at the University of Tsukuba and senior author of the study, in a statement.
According to Tokuyama, it can mean that using your devices before bed can make it harder to lose weight – or even lead to weight gain over time. While exposure to OLEDs compared to LEDs may have a smaller effect, the reduction in energy consumption during the subjects’ sleep was still large enough to lead to long-term physiological changes.
However, this is not the first time artificial light has been linked to the potential for weight gain. According to a study from 2019 published in JAMA Internal Medicine, among a study population of 43,722 women aged 35 to 74, those who slept with either a light or television in their room had higher obesity at the start of the study and were 17% more likely to have gained 11 pounds or more after the study concluded.
While JAMA Internal Medicine The authors of the study admitted that the exact link between light exposure and weight gain was not clear from their research, other researchers have their theories: For example, a review of research from 2019 published Chronobiology International found a link between exposure to blue light and shorter REM sleep – which has been linked to weight gain.
So if you want to improve your sleep quality and improve your health along the way, try turning off your devices – and lights – before you go to bed at night.
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