Having trouble sleeping? Shut down those electronic devices, particularly at night. That's the key finding of new research that shows using a computer, tablet, or smart phone at night can cause us to pile on the pounds.
The study, by of Northwestern University researchers, found a link between blue light exposure — emitted by mobile phones and tablets — appears to increase hunger levels that last for several hours, even after eating a meal, the
Daily Mail reports.
Blue light exposure has also already been shown to decreased sleepiness in the evening increasing the risk of insomnia.
"A single three-hour exposure to blue-enriched light in the evening acutely impacted hunger and glucose metabolism," said Northwestern researcher Ivy Cheung. "These results are important because they suggest that manipulating environmental light exposure for humans may represent a novel approach of influencing food intake patterns and metabolism."
The findings, published in the science journal Sleep, were presented today at an annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Minneapolis. The study group comprised 10 healthy adults with regular sleep and eating schedules who received identical carbohydrate-rich meals.