# Using iPad before bed will make you crazy, experts say



## kb7uen Gene (Mar 13, 2009)

IMHO, I agree with what Christopher Null is saying here.  I know that when I am in front of the computer LCD monitor, I end up not sleeping until after midnight, and the iPad also has a backlit light source.  But years ago, I would read every night with a lamp sitting on top of a bookcase head board, and without fail, I would fall a sleep after a short period of time.

Gene  

This short story came from Yahoo! NEWS.

Using iPad before bed will make you crazy, experts say
Mon Apr 26, 2:14 pm ET

Last night I had weird, wild dreams all night. As disturbing as they were, I can only imagine how insane they might have been had I used my iPad in bed before I passed out.

In a Los Angeles Times blog post, UCLA Sleep Disorders Center Director Frisca Yan-Go says that it's a bad idea to use the iPad in bed. It's much worse, in fact, than e-readers like the Amazon Kindle and far worse than reading a physical book or magazine.

The issue has to do with the light emitted from the iPad, something you don't get with a Kindle, which has no backlight, or a book.

Experts like Yan-Go say that staring at a light-emitting source close to your face can inhibit the secretion of melatonin, a relaxing chemical that helps you sleep. In a nutshell, we are programmed to go to sleep when it's dark and wake up when it's light out. When you look at a bright light source in bed, you are telling your mind to stay up — and the closer that light is to your face and the more intensely you look at it, the stronger the effect can be.

The same effect has been observed in people who use a cell phone heavily in bed.

But given the vast number of people who read in bed, this is especially bad news for the iPad, which has been positioned specifically as a reading device for the next generation — a successor to old and boring print media that can't do any of its tricks. 

Conversely, readers that use electronic ink (including the Kindle, the Nook and most of the rest of the market) have no backlight and may be better for nighttime readers.

Still, it's all not roses with e-ink readers, since you have your eyes to think about. Some experts worry that the lack of contrast on e-ink screens can lead to eyestrain more quickly than other types of screens can.

No in-depth studies have been undertaken yet.

Maybe when nighttime rolls around, cuddling up with the print version of Everyday With Rachael Ray instead of reading it online is your best bet in the end after all.

— Christopher Null is a technology writer for Yahoo! News


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hmmm.  I must be staying up much too late.  I can assure you I have no trouble falling asleep in front of my iPad.  

Betsy


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I stay up much later when I'm playing on my iPhone than when I'm reading on my Kindle. But I don't think it's because of the backlighting, I think it's just because I'm more engaged in what I'm doing.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Here's the important part:

"No in-depth studies have been undertaken yet."

I’ll believe it when I see several credible studies done.  

Mike


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## Someone Nameless (Jul 12, 2009)

I have no trouble going to sleep no matter what I've been using - iTouch, Kindle or computer.

Let me know if they figure out what is causing me to wake up at 4:00 a.m. and have trouble going back to sleep.


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## Eeyore (Jul 16, 2009)

jmiked said:


> Here's the important part:
> 
> "No in-depth studies have been undertaken yet."
> 
> ...


I shall be happy to conduct a major scientific published study for the small fee of $250,000 US.  Can't be any worse than some of the studies I have come across.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=115398

Best Wishes!


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## MagicalWingLT (May 12, 2009)

> Still, it's all not roses with e-ink readers, since you have your eyes to think about. Some experts worry that the lack of contrast on e-ink screens can lead to eyestrain more quickly than other types of screens can.


Um they are joking right? Contrast- back lighting is what causes eye strain...


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

MagicalWingLT said:


> Um they are joking right? Contrast- back lighting is what causes eye strain...


Honestly I think the whole thing is a joke, even though it's probably not meant to be.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Ah-ha! This explains why nobody ever falls asleep watching television or in front of a computer monitor.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Jeff said:


> Ah-ha! This explains why nobody ever falls asleep watching television or in front of a computer monitor.


lol Sadly I've actually done both a couple of times.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Jeff said:


> Ah-ha! This explains why nobody ever falls asleep watching television or in front of a computer monitor.


LOL

my husband uses the tv to fall asleep. In fact it's a running joke at our house that he turns on the tv to take a nap and he will wake up the second someone turns it off.


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