“When I didn’t use any blue light in the hour before bed, I felt more awake the next day and felt like I had slept through the whole night, which normally I struggle to sleep through the whole night because I am a light sleeper” Cybelle Tran (‘29) said.
The average screen time is seven hours and the average amount of sleep per night is eight hours. High amounts of screen time before bed is common amongst students, but this habit can impact their sleep quality. Studies have been proven to show that using blue light daily can affect the body’s natural sleep cycle. However, the majority of high school students do use technology frequently.
“My daily screen time during the weekdays is around seven hours and during the weekend it’s around 10-11 hours since I don’t have school and have more free time,” Emma Kang (’26) said.
During the weekends or days students don’t have school, their screen time increases due to having more free time and not having a lot to do, which worsens sleep quality. Most of the students interviewed had higher screen times on the weekends, but also received more sleep.
“I feel like when I spend more time on my phone I normally have trouble falling asleep and I sometimes stay awake later on my phone.” Leena Druade (’29)
Using blue light devices the hour before you go to sleep can lead to trouble falling asleep and waking up constantly throughout the night. The blue light from screens can reduce the body’s melatonin leading to difficulty in falling and staying asleep.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Line Institute (NIH), “smartphone screens emit blue light in the short wavelength region (380nm to 495nm). This blue light is considered to be responsible for suppressing the production of melatonin hormone, which is one of the key components in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle.”
“I have gone without my phone in the hour before I fall asleep and I really struggled to fall asleep,” Kang said. “After about trying for 30 minutes I would go on my phone to go to sleep. I think I slept worse without using my phone because it took me longer to fall asleep.”
Some people feel they sleep worse due to higher addictions to blue light and feeling like you can’t fall asleep without it because of habits. However, there are many ways to limit blue light. For example, there are blue light blocking glasses and night modes on mobile devices.
“I always use blue light glasses when I use my laptop in school or when I am on my phone,” Tran said. “I find that I get less headaches and migraines after a while. It also helps when I am doing homework late at night and have to use my laptop.”
Getting better sleep at night helps with feeling more alert during the day, having a better mood throughout the day and even doing better in school.
“At night I have my phone set to a night mode, whenever I don’t have night mode on I feel that I don’t sleep as well and I wake up tired.” Senzo Cesari (’29) said.
According to the NIH, “sleeping is a basic human need, like eating, drinking and breathing. Like these other needs, sleeping is vital for good health and well-being throughout your lifetime.”
