The relationship between technology, sleep deprivation, and health

Many people suffer from sleep deprivation today; this could be voluntary or involuntary Technology in its sense is one of the leading causes of sleep deprivation among individuals. The world has revolutionized technologically to the extent that human beings have totally lost control over it.

If you consider how people used to live in the past, sleep time will be cherished and taken with importance. Even if one wanted to abort sleep time, it wasn’t possible since night time was night time totally dark without anything to occupy them. Today, however, the night lights and technological devices, like laptops, mobile phones, and social media have taken center stage of time.

Individuals can easily ignore nighttime and choose to do other things like clubbing, playing games, or engaging in social media activities instead of sleeping. This, in turn, influences the quality of sleep when they eventually fall asleep or leads to a severe case of sleep deprivation.

When an individual goes to bed with a phone by the bedside, the moment the cell phone rings they have to wake up and answer. This automatically disrupts their sleep. Sadly, cell phones have so irresistible in today’s world that these individuals would prefer to sleep with their cell phones on rather than turning them off during sleep time.

On social media, facebook, twitter, snapchat, and Instagram have totally influenced the mindset of many. Moreover, addiction to these social media sites has increased rapidly and keeps going up day by day. An individual can spend hours on screen chatting or engaging in other social media activities that they eventually pass on sleep time. The online games have also ruined everything as this can also become addictive.

Movies, on the other hand, are a case that has long gone out of hands. I, for example, can watch a movie series of 24 episodes to the end regardless of what time I will finish. At times I only get to hear the birds singing at dawn only to realize that it is indeed morning and that I haven’t slept at all. This is the case with most individuals, and a continuation of these habits tends to eat so much into them until they start to experience the symptoms of sleep deprivation.

It is sad how most people fail to recognize the seriousness of sleep deprivation to their overall health. For starters, lack of sleep causes serious physical and mental problems. Inadequate sleep and poor quality sleep has been associated with increased risks of unproductivity, health issues like anxiety, depression, weight gain, and severe cases of high blood pressure.

It is high time that you understand the importance of adequate and quality sleep to your body and general being. Sleep is as vital as food to the general well-being of the human body, lack of it can lead to serious health problems.

Managing your sleep and beating sleep deprivation is not easy. But once you realize its importance you will find yourself doing it involuntarily. First of all, you need to control your technology usage. When you go to sleep turn off your phone or put it in silent mode. Set time for social media and know when to stop. When it’s time to sleep, log out of your social media accounts and dedicate the needed sleep time for sleep.

Additionally, dim the screen light on your mobile devices as the light emitted can affect your ability to fall asleep. Lastly but most importantly, a good bed and a quality mattress can help you enjoy your sleep and long for night time when you can sleep on them. Visit Sleep Junkie for tips and information on the best mattresses available. It is high time you took control of technology use for improved sleep and health.