Technology and its impact on insomnia.

The rise of technological devices and our growing dependence on them has significant consequences in relation to sleep problems. After 2021 with many changes and alterations in routines, 2022 started with the extremely difficult challenge of generating new structures and dynamics.

Sleep disturbances were strongly manifested in this last time. The changes of schedules and the lack of frames of containment and framing destabilized the previous conditions. As a result, insomnia and sleep changes have increased.

One of the reasons that contribute to this is the growing use of technology in general and mobile devices in particular. Quarantine increased our dependence on the internet and these devices even more than before. And this makes it difficult, among other things, the sleeping situation.

The fast access to content through the internet and the lack of limits regarding what we can find make it difficult to restrict its use. For this reason, it is at times like the pre-sleep stage that the increase in cell phone use can be a problem.

In general, surfing the internet and using social networks produces an effect that can trigger anxiety. Let us think that they are visual stimuli that follow each other. If the limit is not set by the user, there is nothing on the other side that does (except for outage cases, which are exceptional, and which, moreover, tend to destabilize quite a bit).

In order to fall asleep, we need to reduce the stimuli. There are those who need fewer conditioning variables than others, but in general, it is difficult to allow the body and mind to relax enough if we have visual and sound stimuli that do not stop. The use of the cell phone at night frequently generates a delay in sleeping due to the time we invest in the activity without noticing it.

It also mobilizes anxieties, which often activate alertness, precisely what needs to be relaxed in order to summon sleep.

It is very important in terms of mental and emotional health to regulate the use, mainly of mobile devices, in order to facilitate falling asleep.

We know that sleep and rest, in general, are essential for health. If this is affected on a sustained basis, it begins to show effects on the general health of the individual. Sleep is restorative, insofar as it allows us to recover physical energy and also psychically compensate or give rise to processes through dreams, which help us to better cope with waking time.

If sleep is repeatedly affected this has repercussions on the whole life of the person. It affects the ability to concentrate, links life, energy availability, mood, and health in general, lowering defenses. 

It is very important, then, to keep in mind that it is advisable not to use technological devices indiscriminately at bedtime, especially for the consumption of visual material, in order to facilitate the conciliation process that requires a previous state of relaxation.

 

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