Sleep Patterns

Another study has shown that taking electrical devices, like a cell phone, to bed during the night can affect sleeping patterns. The handheld devices emit a blue LED light that tricks the brain into staying awake longer. The brain produces a chemical hormone called melatonin that prepares the body for sleep. The light from the screen however throw a person’s internal clock off and make them stay awake. Why does the blue light keep people up? A study in 2002 found that light signals in our eyes are converted into neural signals, which are more sensitive to short wave light, like the blue light. Red light is the longest on the spectrum. LED lights are mostly blue, which is what most screens are lit up by. Looking at a LED screen for just a short amount of time can have a bigger impact on people than they think. A study in 2012 found that just 12 minutes of looking at a LED screen before going to bed can set back the body clock by an hour. Because of …show more content…
The striatum, an important component in the basal ganglia of the brain, is activated when multitaskers work on a task. This part of the brain helps mainly with: voluntary movement, rewarding experiences, habitual activities, and motivation. A small part of the striatum does help with cognitive functions, like motivation, but not enough for the multitaskers to be as successful with deep thinking problems. The people who don’t multitask, however, rely on their hippocampus to focus on their tasks. The hippocampus is a small organ in the brain that mainly associates with memory. Since the non-multitaskers are activating the organ with all their previously learned skills, information they need is ready for them to access. This level of deep thinking is believed to be essential since better, well paying jobs require people who are able to process information