With the ever-present screens in everything we do nowadays, whether it’s TV, computers, tablets, or smartphones, it has become quite challenging to control the time we spend on devices. And this is because the more you are exposed to them, the more you want. Unfortunately, such habits do have a negative effect on you.
These effects will be thoroughly discussed in this article, from how screens can negatively influence the quality of your sleep to how they can also cause you to involuntarily spend more money.
How Screen Time Affects Your Sleep
According to an article on Sleep Foundation, a healthy adult functions according to a 24-hour sleep and waking cycle. In the morning, your body produces cortisol, a hormone that causes the state of wakefulness and alertness. Melatonin, on the other hand, is the hormone that is released as evening comes, and it is the one responsible for sleepiness.
Mobile phones, tablets, readers, and computers, in other words, any kind of electronic back-lit device, emit blue light. Fluorescent and LED lights emit the same kind of light. What all of these have in common is the fact that they reduce or delay your natural production of melatonin, decreasing sleepiness.
Another effect of blue light is that it can also shorten the time you spend in slow-wave and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. You should take this into serious consideration, as these stages of sleep are crucial for the efficient functioning of your brain.
The main takeaway should be that the closer to bedtime you use your blue-light device, the longer it will take for you to fall asleep, and the poorer the quality of sleep you will get because of it. This is why experts recommend reducing screen time before bed, as well as other strategies that will be thoroughly discussed further.
How Decision-Making Is Influenced By Screen Time
If screen exposure affects the cognitive functions of your brain, then it is easy to see how it can also influence your decision-making process. Your quality of sleep, as mentioned in the above section, is influenced by these blue-light devices, which, in turn, have the domino effect of causing tiredness.
A study on the National Library of Medicine has shown that this type of chronic fatigue can directly impair the section of your brain that handles functions like impulse control, risk assessment, and critical thinking.
When you lack sleep because you have been indulging in too much screen time, your brain struggles to deal with complex information. This can make you more susceptible to making impulsive decisions, seeking short-term gratification, and having a poor thought process.
“One More Round” Loops and Why It’s Hard to Stop
Many of us get stuck in this sort of dopamine loop of “just one more video”, “one more chapter”, or “one more round” of a game. Platforms, games, and even a good story can be especially designed to keep you hooked so you completely disregard your logical stopping points. Three important aspects come into play when dealing with dopamine loops:
- Variable Reward Schedules: Because this involves unpredictable rewards, your brain does not process whether the next swipe, page, or round will offer you something boring or something interesting. This causes a huge spike in dopamine, which forces you to keep scrolling, reading, playing, or searching for the next best thing.
- Endless Scrolling: According to psychologists, there are such things as “stopping cues” that you can normally feel when it’s the end of a chapter, the end of a movie, or a game. Apps, nowadays, eliminate these natural boundaries, so that you can’t feel the stopping point, which would normally prompt you to make a conscious decision. So your brain simply gives up control and stays on screen.
- The Zeigarnik Effect: Experts say we have a natural tendency to remember tasks we have left unfinished better than the ones we have completed. So playing the next episode, reading the next chapter, or maintaining your winning streaks in a game gives you the impression that these are urgent activities. It also convinces your brain that if you stop now, you will leave something incomplete.
When you use screens late at night, tiredness kicks in, and you’ll find yourself in a dopamine loop, like the ones we’ve just described. As mentioned, these loops are difficult to avoid because they are designed to keep you hooked.
Setting Boundaries
You can regain control of your sleep and budget by eliminating late-night screen use. Most phones, and even other devices, have features that either notify you of how much time you have spent on them or simply lock after a certain period. This naturally creates enough pause for you to realize you need to stop your screen time session.
To set boundaries around spending, the ideal approach is to establish a separate, reasonable budget for that activity. With online gambling, there are deposit limits that you can use on casino platforms, and these can help you control how much you spend when gambling. There is also the option to claim sign up no deposit incentives from SlotsCalendar, which allow you to play without your personal funds, though they come with terms and conditions. But no matter which option you go for, remember to gamble responsibly.
Conclusions
When you decide to use your screen right before bed, you expose yourself to poor-quality sleep and fatigue for the following day. As discussed, late-night scrolling also influences the way your brain functions, which in turn affects your decision-making skills as well. As you can see, one late-night screen session can cause quite a chain reaction.
Experts recommend establishing healthy boundaries with your devices to protect both your mental health and your finances from poor decisions. Use your device to set screen limits, and once you reach a certain time before bed, it is generally considered a good idea to set aside or stay away from any kind of screen so you can enjoy a restful sleep.