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How added screen time might be impacting your health and how to fix it

Posted at 9:50 AM, Feb 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-01 09:55:41-05

Does it seem like you just cannot get away from a screen these days?

Your phone, tablet and TV are accessible at any hour of the day. Plus, these days, we are using these devices more than usual.

But, do you really know all the effects blue light can have on the body? And how simple changes can make a difference.

“I'm just concerned about what affects our natural body processes and biological clock, said Doctor Dr. Geri Williams of Ideal You Health Center. “Because if we can get a handle on that, including the case of blue light after dark, we're more likely to have ease with maintaining a healthy, normal body weight.”:Maybe you are working from home, your kids are doing virtual learning, you feel like your home is filled with screens and devices. It is hard to escape. The impact all that screen time on your health could be surprising. If we use blue light devices, after dark when our bodies should be entering our sleep cycle,” said Dr. Williams. “What we do is extend that wakefulness and alertness, but also cause our bodies to release hormones that are related to daytime, like insulin and cortisol they're, they're higher than they should be after dark, which means that our bodies respond the same way. by increasing our blood sugar. By making us hungry, making us crave carbs and sugar. And when we crave carbs and sugar. Furthermore, because we're alert and awake. As a result of the exposure to those blue lights we're also delaying, and diminishing the release of our sleep hormones like melatonin, and our repair hormones like HGH.”

It essentially changes the way our bodies were designed to operate.

“People who were exposed to bright blue light, while they ate meals in the evening. They showed a higher level of glucose in their blood. They showed slower metabolism and more insulin resistance which means that ultimately if that's the behavior you're doing regularly eating in bright blue light after dark. Your body is going to necessarily store all that energies at. And that has a lot of health consequences even beyond the scale,” said Dr. Williams.

So, what can you do? Especially when it seems like there's no ways to limit your exposure these days.

“Take some breaks, get some daylight on your skin and enjoy the full spectrum, effect on your health,” said Dr. Williams. “Another approach would be to after dark. Keep your overhead lights low. Our ancestors would have had fires and candles. So, that's about the literal level that we want our lighting to be not great and overhead. Even more importantly when it comes to that, the blue light devices. Use the night shift mode setting on your phone, set it to go on at sunset and go off at sunrise. Powering them down about an hour to two hours before bedtime, and have a really excellent impact on how your sleep is, and ultimately your metabolism.”