Is night time reading ruining your health?

Find out what makes a difference -- what type of material you read or where you read it.

Reading is a pleasurable activity that enhances your brain power as it makes new neural connections and improves your memory. This is one reason experts urge new parents to introduce kids to books as early as six months of age. But the bottom line is what you read and how you read makes a difference to your mental and physical well-being. More so, if you choose to read at night, before going to bed. Night time reading unlike daytime reading can influence your mood and sleep patterns in many ways. Here are some foods that can help you sleep better.

Here is how reading can affect you and how:

Reading on electronic devices: With the advent of technology, reading has become more accessible. You don t have to carry a 1000 page book with you for information or leisure reading. Everything comes to you in a pixilated format packed in your e-book reader, smartphone, tablet or your laptop. Here are six ways in which your smartphone is putting you at risk!

On the one hand reading is now just a click away, it deteriorates your health in many ways. Especially, if you read from these devices at night. It not only strains your eyes, it disturbs your circadian cycle, delays sleep and makes you less productive the next morning. A study done by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center pointed out that night time reading of e-books from light emitting devices suppresses production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to induce sleep naturally. One of the reasons for this is that the short-wavelength enriched light emitted by these electronic devices makes one alert in the night, which causes a shift in your biological clock [1]. Here are seven simple tips for a good night s sleep.

However, if you are in favour of reading at night and don t like to read from a bulky book, remember choosing less light-emitting screens will not help either. You have probably heard about the new age E-ink screens which don t emit light of their own. But don't be quick to invest in one of those non-reflective e-reading devices because a study published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics in the year 2012 reported that both LCDs and E-ink screens had a similar effect on eyes during night time reading [2]. Here are four ways to keep your eyes healthy as you age.

Reading a paperback edition: The same study that urges to limit reading from light-emitting devices at night also states that reading a paperback has a completely different effect on your eyes, brain and sleep pattern. Reading a paperback version helps reduce stress, boosts imagination, makes you less alert and is soothing, which helps you unwind and sleep in peace. Well if you are wondering what to read, it doesn t matter as long as isn t something that makes you anxious or agitated. However, reading fiction before bedtime can make the reader more empathetic in a way [3]. But, we aren t sure if that can help you be more compassionate and understanding with your peers at work the next morning.

Reading a newspaper: There is no harm in reading a newspaper last thing in the day. Refrain from reading gross or gory news pieces just before going to bed. This can make you emotionally charged and disturb your sleep. However, a light, inspiring and interesting feature can be a good way to unwind and say goodnight.

Image source: Shutterstock

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[1] Chang, A. M., Aeschbach, D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,112(4), 1232-1237.

[2] 1: Siegenthaler E, Bochud Y, Bergamin P, Wurtz P. Reading on LCD vs e-Ink displays: effects on fatigue and visual strain. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2012 Sep;32(5):367-74. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1313.2012.00928.x. Epub 2012 Jul 4. PubMed PMID: 22762257.

[3] Bal, P. M., & Veltkamp, M. (2013). How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation.PloS one, 8(1), e55341.