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# Poll suggests technology is keeping Americans from sleep
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/sleep_0308110836/
- Published: 2011-03-07T09:35:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:07:55.000Z
- Description: The National Sleep Foundation's 2011 poll found 63 percent of Americans report a sleep problem every night, and that light-emitting laptops and phones are widely used in the hour before bed. Harvard's Charles Czeisler says evening light suppresses melatonin and delays sleep.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Lifestyle, Health News, Sleep, #vivvo-import

By Kathleen Blanchard

Investigators suggest it may be too much technology keeping Americans from a good night’s sleep. In a poll, researchers found a “pervasive” use of communications technology that could be contributing to complaints from 63 percent of Americans who reported some form of sleep problem every night. 

The 2011 Sleep in America® poll, conducted by [the National Sleep Foundation](http://www.sleepfoundation.org/?ref=foodconsumer.org) (NSF) found disrupted sleep among 60 percent of Americans who report snoring or waking up in the middle of the night, awakening too early and not feeling rested in the morning that occurs on a regular basis. On weeknights, 43 percent of Americans said they aren’t sleeping enough, with two-thirds averaging less than seven hours and 15 percent less than six hours of quality sleep during the week. 

The newest poll specifically explores the role of communication technology and sleep disruption, looking at how many Americans report using laptops and cell phones before sleep. The researchers say both are “interactive” and might affect the brain differently than television or listening to music that are passively received. 

"Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night suppresses release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, enhances alertness and shifts circadian rhythms to a later hour—making it more difficult to fall asleep," says Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. 

In the study, researchers found that light-emitting screens are widely used within an hour before sleep. “Invasion of such alerting technologies into the bedroom may contribute to the high proportion of respondents who reported that they routinely get less sleep than they need." 

Czeisler says for those who find cell phones and Internet use stimulating or anxiety producing, it might be a simple matter of engaging in a more passive activity before sleep to ensure maximum rest. 

"Over the last 50 years, we've seen how television viewing has grown to be a near constant before bed, and now we are seeing new information technologies such as laptops, cell phones, video games and music devices rapidly gaining the same status," says Lauren Hale, PhD, Stony Brook University Medical Center. "The higher use of these potentially more sleep-disruptive technologies among younger generations may have serious consequences for physical health, cognitive development and other measures of wellbeing." 

The researchers offer some tips to get better sleep that 61 percent of adults claimed in the survey interferes with intimacy and 74 percent said has a negative impact on work, leading to more frequent napping and consumption of three 12-ounce caffeinated beverages daily to stay awake. 

To get a better night’s sleep, keep a regular schedule and avoid alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and large meals before bedtime. Consider a relaxing bedtime routine, such a yoga, deep breathing, meditation or listening to soft music. Remove distractions from the bedroom, like cell phones. Turn off the computer and dim the lights an hour before sleep. 

Allison Harvey, PhD, behavioral sleep expert at UC Berkeley says it’s important to find a relaxing routine to wind down with at the end of the day and turn down the lights to avoid the perils of poor sleep that can negatively impact physical and emotional well-being. 

The [study ](http://news.google.com/news/section?pz=1&cf=all&topic=m&ict=ln&ref=foodconsumer.org)suggests it might be important to assess how Internet use, texting, video gaming and other stimulating technology is interfering with sleep in your household. The research suggests technology may be disrupting sleep in America. 

Source:

http://sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/sleepinamericapoll/SIAP\_2011\_Summary\_of\_Findings.pdf