E-readers 'damage sleep and health,' doctors warn

[Apache]

Originally Posted by FacebookVirus

Reads like a print journalism hit piece.

Reads like a publisher financed study.
Apache

[Barcey]

It's funny that they didn't include a comparison on how reading a paper book or an electronic book impacts the sleeping patterns of your significant other.

[FacebookVirus]

Originally Posted by Barcey

It's funny that they didn't include a comparison on how reading a paper book or an electronic book impacts the sleeping patterns of your significant other.

Also, reading in bed in general is not recommended for optimal sleep.

[Lemurion]

Just once I want to see one of these "studies" with e-reader in the headline actually use e-readers.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I read somewhere once that more doctors recommend camel than any other cigarette. I'll file this study with that claim.

Man, I miss smoking...

[DSpider]

One of the commenters wrote:

Originally Posted by 367. nick

I prefer a braille book in total darkness.

lol

But seriously, you shouldn't be reading in bet at all. The bed should only be used for sleep (well, sleeping and having sex). Anything else and you'll associate it with that action and ruin your slumber. So no listening to music, watching TV, reading comics, doing homework, petting the cat, etc, on the bed. Having an entire room (a bedroom - go figure) dedicated to sleeping is even better, because after a while the falling asleep process begins as soon as you open the door to that room.

Tablets are bad even at lower brightness levels, because they have a refresh rate (typically 60 Hz), which is very tiring for the eyes after a short while. Think of it like staring into a lamp. Instead of staring into a lamp, with a front-lit e-reader, you'll be staring at the equivalent of a wall that's being lit. It makes a big difference.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DSpider

Think of it like staring into a lamp.

I don't think I will.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by DSpider

But seriously, you shouldn't be reading in bet at all. The bed should only be used for sleep (well, sleeping and having sex). Anything else and you'll associate it with that action and ruin your slumber. So no listening to music, watching TV, reading comics, doing homework, petting the cat, etc, on the bed. Having an entire room (a bedroom - go figure) dedicated to sleeping is even better, because after a while the falling asleep process begins as soon as you open the door to that room.

I agree, they should have extended the study by two weeks and included two additional comparisons.

1) Go to the gym and workout for 2 hours, have a sauna and shower, go home and relax for an hour but don't read, then go to bed. Do this for 6 days in a row.

2) Have sex for 4 hours (but no reading). You must be in a dim room and your partner must be on a stand to ensure an even angle of light reflection. You aren't allowed to hold your partner. Do this for 6 days in a row.

[treadlightly]

Good books prevent sleep, and boring books induce it. So should we only read dull books?

[Halk]

This is the body of the complaint I sent to the BBC.

The study was a very flimsy one - 12 people over 5 days so would not produce any credible results. The study was funded by paper book publishers, so there is a clear conflict of interest that your reporter has ignored.

The study was into LCD tablets, not ereaders.

Ereaders are primarily electronic ink devices which function entirely differently to LCD tablet screens like the iPads in the "study".

The quality of journalism here is abysmal and you should remove or rewrite the article.

I'm complaining because I've had the article forwarded to me by several concerned friends or family who would expect the BBC to have written a reasonable article. This is clearly not the case.

My dad, my brother and a friend all emailed me this article today and it's the most forwarded article on BBC news.

[Ned]

Wonderful to have a free press, isn't it.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

You can get the same result if you read off print with a sun-spectrum lamp or just play Monopoly every night under standard light bulbs.

Tying it to gadgets is just disingenuous spin, especially in a study funded by old-school dead tree pulp purveyors.

Next!

Do you know many people who play Monopoly in bed to get to sleep?
I think it's perfectly reasonable to look at the effects on sleep of an activity that many people use as a way to get to sleep.

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Good books prevent sleep, and boring books induce it. So should we only read dull books?

If you're reading to help you go to sleep, as many people do? Yes.

[patrik]

Let BBC know.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ApK

Do you know many people who play Monopoly in bed to get to sleep?
I think it's perfectly reasonable to look at the effects on sleep of an activity that many people use as a way to get to sleep?

I said nothing about doing it in bed or as a way to get to sleep but as a matter of fact I do know three people who used to play it in bed. Around age 12.

The point is that the effect they describe is due to the intensity and color temperature of the lighting, not the location or activity they "studied".

Here's a nice summary of the science of melatonin suppression:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsle...s-a-dark-side/

Reading or playing, bedroom or family room, makes no difference. It is all about the type and duration of light exposure; the light suppresses melatonin production and everything cascades from there...

[Barbara1955]

I wish they ask me! I read in bed Because reading in any format puts me to sleep!! On my last Dr visit I was told no more reading in bed! WTHeck! My Dr must have read this article!!