Glow of electronic devices is affecting Americans' sleep

Americans aren't getting enough sleep, and technology may be the culprit. In the National Sleep Foundation's 2011 Sleep in America poll, out today, 95% of the 1,508 people surveyed reported using some type of electronic device — such as a TV, computer, video game or cellphone — within an hour of bedtime at least a few nights a week. All these devices can affect the quality of sleep, says Lauren Hale, associate professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook (NY) University School of Medicine, one of the researchers involved in the study. "Communication technologies are often light-emitting, which can suppress the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin and make it harder to go to sleep at night." Both the light and alert sounds from such devices can interfere with falling asleep and staying asleep, she says.