The Effects of Technology on Sleep: EMF, Light, and Music
As a result of the invention of electricity and the light bulb, humans are no longer restricted to activity during daylight hours. Modern advancements in technology have been beneficial to productivity, while also leading to a decline in sleep duration. The interactions between sleep and technology have grown more pronounced over the decades, with 90% of Americans reporting to use of some type of electronics within an hour of going to bed (Chang, Aeschbach, Duffy, & Czeisler, 2014).
Many aspects of technology usage should be considered when studying their effect on sleep, including visual stimuli (such as light exposure), auditory stimuli (such as music), and the less obvious effects …show more content…
A review by Hamblin and Wood (2002) found that the most consistent finding from EMF sleep studies was the enhancement of EEG power in the alpha range. Some studies have found a direct correlation between EMF exposure during sleep and increased power in non-REM (NREM) and stage two sleep in the spindle frequencies (Schmid 2012; Huber 2002). Multiple studies have reported that EMF has effects on the human brain both during and long after the initial exposure (Hamblin 2002; Schmid 2012). WASO time was reduced after EMF exposure in one study (Huber 2003), but many studies before and after this occurrence found no significant effects on sleep architecture (Huber 2002, Schmid 2012). A specific area that seems to be involved in reaction to EMF exposure is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which saw increased cerebral blood flow after exposure to EMF (Huber 2002). Other studies found that effects on brain activity were not specific to the site of exposure, which lead the authors to hypothesize that subcortical structures (specifically the thalamus, which is responsible for sleep spindle occurrences) are involved (Huber …show more content…
Passive music listening was associated with the activation of a specific network of subcortical structures including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), ventral tegmental area (VTA), hypothalamus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex (Menon 2005). This finding was significant because the NAc and VTA combine to form the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway that is associated with reward processing and dopamine release, which leads to an association between listening to music and increased feelings of content or happiness. This association between music and dopamine release was mirrored in another study that looked into the effects of music on the endocrine system. Gerra et al. (1998) found that classical music was associated with an improvement in emotional state, but no significant changes in hormonal concentrations, while techno music was associated with worsening emotional state, and significant increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and plasma concentrations of β-endorphin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, norepinephrine, growth hormone, and cortisol. In this study, the stress associated with listening to techno music served as a powerful stimulus for activation of the noradrenergic system (Gerra et al. 1998). Studies that used subjective measures of sleep quality have consistently found that music was associated with better self-reported sleep
As a result of the invention of electricity and the light bulb, humans are no longer restricted to activity during daylight hours. Modern advancements in technology have been beneficial to productivity, while also leading to a decline in sleep duration. The interactions between sleep and technology have grown more pronounced over the decades, with 90% of Americans reporting to use of some type of electronics within an hour of going to bed (Chang, Aeschbach, Duffy, & Czeisler, 2014).
Many aspects of technology usage should be considered when studying their effect on sleep, including visual stimuli (such as light exposure), auditory stimuli (such as music), and the less obvious effects …show more content…
A review by Hamblin and Wood (2002) found that the most consistent finding from EMF sleep studies was the enhancement of EEG power in the alpha range. Some studies have found a direct correlation between EMF exposure during sleep and increased power in non-REM (NREM) and stage two sleep in the spindle frequencies (Schmid 2012; Huber 2002). Multiple studies have reported that EMF has effects on the human brain both during and long after the initial exposure (Hamblin 2002; Schmid 2012). WASO time was reduced after EMF exposure in one study (Huber 2003), but many studies before and after this occurrence found no significant effects on sleep architecture (Huber 2002, Schmid 2012). A specific area that seems to be involved in reaction to EMF exposure is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which saw increased cerebral blood flow after exposure to EMF (Huber 2002). Other studies found that effects on brain activity were not specific to the site of exposure, which lead the authors to hypothesize that subcortical structures (specifically the thalamus, which is responsible for sleep spindle occurrences) are involved (Huber …show more content…
Passive music listening was associated with the activation of a specific network of subcortical structures including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), ventral tegmental area (VTA), hypothalamus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex (Menon 2005). This finding was significant because the NAc and VTA combine to form the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway that is associated with reward processing and dopamine release, which leads to an association between listening to music and increased feelings of content or happiness. This association between music and dopamine release was mirrored in another study that looked into the effects of music on the endocrine system. Gerra et al. (1998) found that classical music was associated with an improvement in emotional state, but no significant changes in hormonal concentrations, while techno music was associated with worsening emotional state, and significant increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and plasma concentrations of β-endorphin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, norepinephrine, growth hormone, and cortisol. In this study, the stress associated with listening to techno music served as a powerful stimulus for activation of the noradrenergic system (Gerra et al. 1998). Studies that used subjective measures of sleep quality have consistently found that music was associated with better self-reported sleep