Another reason to fear the blue light

I am typing this post three hours before my bedtime. I normally do not work on blog posts at night (I write the majority of them in the mornings on the weekends), but it has been a busy weekend, so I am writing this one a few hours before I go to sleep. It is a Monday post, but that is not the deadline that I have in mind. My deadline is actually to be done with my computer an hour before my bedtime.

We've talked about blue light before and how screens that emit the light affect our circadian rhythms and make it harder for us to go to sleep. This is true of children and adults, which is also why it is so important to give your devices a bedtime.

New research, however, makes another leap in studying the effects of blue light on young bodies. In a study conducted by Brown University, researchers found that there is an increased sensitivity to light emitted by devices in pre-pubescent children. That sensitivity increases a child's risk of not getting a good night's sleep and elevates the possibility of hormonal imbalance throughout the day.

And, I don't know about you, but the last thing I would want is to cause a hormonal imbalance in an early pubescent teenager. (And while we are on that topic - Sorry, Mom!)

So now you have another reason to remove devices from your child's bedroom at night: Hormones.

(Hey look - I finished this post with more than two hours to spare. I think I'll email my Mother.)

What's the curfew for electronic devices in your family? Share with me in the comments.