The use of electronic gadgets, such as smartphones and tablets, in bed has a high association with insomnia, medical experts said on World Sleep Day yesterday.
World Sleep Day was initiated by the World Sleep Society in 2008 to increase public awareness about how sleep can affect mental and physical health, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital psychiatrist Wang Ming-yu (王明鈺) said.
About 4 million Taiwanese — almost one in five — suffer from insomnia, Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine data show, while the number of sleeping pills prescribed in 2018 exceeded 900 million, according to National Health Insurance Administration data.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
The screens of electronic gadgets emit strong blue light, which after entering the retina is turned into neurological signals that create the illusion of daylight in the pineal gland, suppressing its production of melatonin, a hormone secreted at night to help with sleep, Wang said.
Instead of relaxing, the brain continues to operate, causing problematic conditioning in which the brain links the bed to the use of electronic gadgets over time, she said.
People who must use electronic devices at night should use them away from the bedroom and keep it as a place solely for rest, she added.
Users of electronic gadgets at night should turn down the brightness of the screen so that production of melatonin remains at a normal level, Wang said.
Wang’s colleague psychiatrist Chou Po-han (周伯翰) said that besides nighttime exposure to blue light, insomnia can also be caused by anxiety, depression, stress or pain, so it is important to identify the cause and implement the correct treatment rather than prescribing sleeping pills, which could lead to addiction and abuse.
Clinical psychologists Lin Shih-ing (林詩穎) and Hung Ing-tzu (洪櫻慈) said that people who suffer from insomnia, but prefer not to take drugs, could try cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on adjusting a person’s problematic sleep-related habits and thoughts to improve their sleep.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by