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One hour of device screen time at night could lead to increased sugar consumption

DCUK NewsBot

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Just an hour of phone or tablet screen time at night could lead to increased sugar consumption, according to researchers. Teams from the University of Strasbourg and University of Amsterdam investigated the effects of blue light - the light produced from devices - and its effects on blood glucose regulation. Artificial light has previously been linked with increased risks of type 2 diabetes and other health conditions, which is hypothesised to occur because it disrupts the body's circadian rhythms. The study involved exposing male rats to an hour of blue light in the evening, then measuring their food consumption and glucose tolerance the next day. The rats used in the study were diurnal, meaning they were awake during the day and asleep at night. The next day the animals were given the option to choose out of nutritionally balanced food (standard rodent food), water, lard and sugar water. The researchers discovered that one hour of blue light was enough time for the rats to drink more sugar water at night compared to the nights they weren’t exposed to blue light. The researchers explained that this association may exist because the retina is sensitive to the light omitted from devices and sends information to the part of the brain that controls appetite. They say these findings suggest that humans using phones, tablets and laptops at night may be more prone to sugary snacks. Lead study author Anayanci Masís-Vargas said: "Limiting the amount of time that we spend in front of screens at night is, for now, the best measure to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of blue light. "In case it is necessary to be exposed to devices at night, I would recommend the use of apps and night mode features on the devices, which turn the screens more orange and less blue or the use of blue light filtering goggles that are already available in the market." The findings were unveiled at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) in the Netherlands.

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DCUK NewsBot said:
I would recommend the use of apps and night mode features on the devices, which turn the screens more orange and less blue or the use of blue light filtering goggles that are already available in the market
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I have use the night light on computers for years, the main one I used on Windows from XP onwards was called f.lux, in one of the Win 10 bloat upgrades they have put a night light as standard in it. On my new Chromebook it comes as a standard feature of the Chrome OS.

They should really stop the lab rats from watching the television / gadgets etc. so they do not eat the food they are force fed...
 
What a meaningless, pointless study..

Keep your rat away from your ipad..
 
Thank you.My Amazon Fire tablet has that.I went online and downloaded Midnight Lizard app for Firefox browser.Its a smidgen slower to load pages.I set it for blue blocker,made it default across all websites.Has a tab to click it on and off.So daytime I can turn it off,or I might just leave pages this light funky brownish color,I might get used to that.Videos play in normal colors so far,just loaded and tweaking it.
Now Im safe as are all the rats that use my devices.
Seriously,very cool app.
 
Isnt this also an issue with LED lightbulbs? I just recently got a 'new' old lamp with a 100 watt incandescent bulb with a dimmer on it.Use less of my LED's now except when typing on comp I still need my LED table lamp.Cant hurt,Ive read a lot of things about the blue light not being good,of course like most of us my house is all LED nowadays.
 
I’d say it’s likely that increased sugar consumption in humans is more due to the fact that most of the “food” they buy is swimming in the stuff. But anything to deflect from the truth. Hey let’s blame diabetes on iPads? Worth a shot
 
Dark Horse said:
Only if you think that understanding physiology is pointless.
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It is interesting. Appetite control seems to be affected by exposure to blue light. So, there appears to be some truth to the article. Not sure it applies to everyone, but for people eating rubbish at night while online etc it could very well have an effect for many. I rarely eat past meal time at night, but my grandkids who do when on school holidays have remarked how they drink too much coke and mountain dew, chips etc while online late.

The difference is I don't eat the rubbish they do, but I may eat a small amount of cheddar cheese before bed and I may not. Apart from the physiology aspect there is also the habitual habit of eating while being exposed to screen time that I'm sure also plays a roll in this kind of behaviour in people.
 
bulkbiker said:
Rat physiology of course.. nothing to do with human..
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But if the subject piques your curiosity,tons of research on blue light effects on humans.We are made for sunlight,incandescent bulbs make pretty close to sunlight,LED does not.
Nice thing though is the tech on LED's is moving at light speed,they should get better if not replaced by something better yet before that.IMO.
 
That doesn't sound right, sunlight is much higher temperature (more blue) than an incandescent bulb. LED bulbs are available in lots of colour temperatures, the warm white ones I have at home are 2700K which is the same as an incandescent bulb.
On the other hand mobile phones and tablets have a colour temperature of about 6500K which is much more blue, presumably to look right in daylight. You can get software to change the colour temperature for evening viewing but many tablet and phones have the feature built in.
 
I believe in the color rendering (CRI) index incandescent is king.CRI 100%

Most LED pull about 85,I have some Phillips X Prize bulbs that pull 92%.

This is based on couple year old research,LED's change fast so may not be fully up to date.There are some LED solutions supposedly up to 99.

Im not a lighting engineer,just a hobbyist so thats the extent of what I know.
 
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With a screen you are looking at the light it emits from red, green and blue pixels and the balance will have a colour temperature. If you are looking at something under a light then you need a continuous spectrum for all the colours of the object to be correctly rendered which is where CRI comes in. You are quite right in that respect incandescent bulbs are like daylight as they both have a continuous spectrum generated by heat. LEDs generate light at specific frequencies ( originally only red) but the technology is getting much better and closer to natural light.
 
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