London - Smartphones, tablets and e-readers need to be built with a “bed mode” to help users get to sleep faster, experts have said.
New devices are being built with bigger, “bluer and brighter” screens, which have an impact on the body's ability to produce sleep-inducing hormones, according to a team of researchers.
Previous studies have shown that blue light hinders people from sleeping by suspending the onset of their natural body clocks.
But Professor Paul Gringas, from Evelina Children's Hospital in London, said his team found the problem was getting worse, and it was time for manufacturers to take responsibility.
Blue and green wavelengths of light affect the production of melatonin the most, as well as raising alertness in people at a time when they should be feeling sleepier.
Screens produce a bright light, which can stop the body producing melatonin - the sleep hormone - which is produced naturally as the evening becomes darker.
Gringas noted in the research findings, published in Frontiers in Public Health, that newer models of phones and tablets were “bluer”. These include the iPad Air, the Kindle Paperweight first generation and the iPhone 5s.
The professor went on to say: “Hardware should shift blue and green light emissions to yellow and red as we as reduce backlight/ light intensity,”
There are apps that are designed to be “sleep-aware”, where the creators have specifically aimed to decrease the blue lights, but this has not been rolled out to whole devices.
The Independent