Trouble sleeping? Computers and smart phones are not to blame!
A Life / / December 19, 2019
Problems with sleep - a scourge of modern civilization. But are the cause of insomnia, our smartphones, tablets and TVs? A new study by American University puts this idea into question.
According to statistics, today 40% of the population in developed countries are experiencing various problems with sleep, and this number is growing steadily. Traditionally, it is believed that one of the main culprits are the various electronic devices: Computers, televisions, smart phones, with which we used to spend the evenings. Therefore, on the web circulates a number of articles in which we recommend in any case not to stay up late in front of the screen, and it is better to remove all electronic devices from the bedroom.
Scientists from the University of California in collaboration with colleagues from New Mexico decided to see how much has changed our habits under the influence of the electronic devices and the modern pace of life. For comparison, they found three families which are in the early stages of development and live in remote corners of the globe (Tanzania, Africa, Bolivia). People in these communities almost completely cut off from civilization and lead the same lifestyle that many hundreds of years ago were our ancestors.
study duration and quality of sleep in these tribes gave unexpected results. It turned out that the duration of the night recreation in all nations is 5.7 to 7.1 hours per day with an average of about 6.5 hours. While the norm for the modern city dweller - about 7.5 hours per day.
The results of this pilot study was also called into question the idea that in the past century has been almost universally distributed daily rest. Investigated savages rarely went to sleep during the day during the summer and hardly ever - in the winter. So what is so beloved by many a siesta, apparently, is also a purely modern invention.
One might expect that the people involved hunter-gatherers, rising from the sunrise and conductive pm in dark huts, will have a completely different mode of the day, rather than modern managers and programmers. However, in reality it is not. People completely devoid of modern media, the Internet, television, and in general any electronic devices, sleeping even less than we do.