Bad news...PO Day 368

Here I was just bragging about being awake in the night and how useful that "free" time is. And dear husband has to pop my bubble by sending me the following news item...

Digital devices taking a toll on getting a good night’s sleep.

In its “Sleepless in America” special series, NBC Nightly News (6/24, story 9, 2:45, Holt) reported, “The CDC has called lack of sleep a public health epidemic, and most sleep experts say all our digital devices we’re taking into the bedroom are taking a toll on getting a good night’s rest.” NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson explained, “Experts say it’s no coincidence 95 percent of us look at some kind of screen within an hour of bedtime and 85 percent have trouble falling asleep.” Blue light emitted from “screens send[s] a signal it’s still daylight, triggering a surge of energy and blocking the melatonin that makes us sleepy.” Therefore, it’s “no wonder then that with the device on nearly every nightstand one in three people sleeps less than six hours a day, raising the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression.

I've always been a night owl. College was the first time I was able to set my own wake-sleep schedule. I wasn't alone studying for exams at three in the morning. Or just crashing in someone's dorm room to talk. When my children were little I stayed awake long after they were in bed so that I could sew or write letters or just read a book. As a working single mother there were never enough hours in the day so it was not unusual for me to iron or paint the living room or even go grocery shopping at 2:00 AM. Retirement actually brought me the closest to a regular wake - sleep pattern..for the first time in decades there was enough time for sleep!

So when my broken shoulder began to interrupt my sleep it was easy for me to accept being awake in the wee small hours. Doing something, like playing computer, actually helped distract me from the general misery I felt. I caught up on all the great buying opportunities through thirty minute infomercials, learned all about news events around the second and third world, and relished reruns of my favorite tv show, Frasier (2:0O-4:00 AM on the hallmark channel). And, my blog! I could pour out my heart and angst to an anonymous audience who never once said ENOUGH about rTSA. They could turn me off (or I could turn them off) and I would never know. If I chose to not check the stats on my site I could pretend hundreds of devoted followers were hanging on my every written word. And if I did check the stats I could discover that someone in France or China or India was checking in to see what I had to say.

So at the risk of obesity, depression, diabetes and heart disease, I will see you in the middle of the night!