Caution: iPad reading may disrupt your sleep cycle

When it comes to sleeping, the human brain is a finely tuned machine. It is designed to allow us the 8 hours of sleep we need each night, without putting us at risk for attack from predators or missing out on meals. Sometimes, without intending to, we can short circuit these built-in protections and disrupt our own sleep pattens. It is a good reminder that light-emitting devices like the Apple iPad can lead to a worse night's sleep, if misused.

Light-emitting devices, including cellphones and yep, the iPad, tell the brain to stay alert. Because users hold those devices so close to their face, staring directly into the light, the effect is amplified compared with, say, a TV across the room or a bedside lamp, said Frisca Yan-Go, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Santa Monica.

Your mileage may vary, as the brain is also a very flexible, adaptable machine. But if you find yourself losing sleep after picking up a Netbook or iPad as a portable bedtime reader, it may be time to rethink your investment. Or switch over to paper for your bedtime story.

Resetting your Sleep Clock

While our vacation this year stayed exclusively in Eastern Standard Time, I know that a number of Mod-Bloggers have to switch between time zones as they visit friends and family. So, they may be interested to learn about a new study which claims it is possible to reset your sleep clock in a single night. What is the secret? Fasting!

Simply stop eating during the 12-16 hour period before you want to be awake. Once you start eating again, your internal clock will be reset as though it is the start of a new day. Your body will consider the time you break your fast as your new "morning."

For example, if you want to start waking up at 2:00 am, you should start fasting between 10:00 am or 2:00 pm the previous day, and don't break your fast until you wake up at 2:00 am. Make sure you eat a nice healthy meal to jumpstart your system.

This could be invaluable to frequent travelers, and infrequent travelers with a desperate need to stay awake at a wedding. :-)

Mobile Phone radiation reduces sleep effectiveness

A new study by the cell phone manufacturer suggests that exposure to cellular radiation at night may reduce the quality of sleep, and prevent the brain from reaching the lower levels of sleep needed to fully recover from a day's stress.

Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study.

The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.

The findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest – use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.

I first heard about this study a few weeks ago, and decided to try an experiment for myself. Since I had gotten my iPhone, I had been sleeping with it on my alarm clock, near the head of my bed. I moved the phone across the room or sometimes to another room entirely during evening hours. Since then, I have indeed found my sleep to be considerably improved in quality, and I am waking up less often at night. Of course, my results are only anecdotal and may well be psychosomatic in nature. But I'd encourage our other Mod-Blog readers to do the same and see if they have the same results.