Researchers have issued a fresh warning over using electronic gadgets before bed.

A major new study found that the light from the gadgets can disrupt sleep patterns.

It is the first to study e-book users and readers of paper books.

Tablet readers took longer to fall asleep and spent less time in REM sleep, the study found

BLUE LIGHT ISSUES Previous research has shown that blue light suppresses melatonin, impacts the circadian clock and increase alertness, but little was known about the effects of this popular technology on sleep. The use of light emitting devices immediately before bedtime is a concern because of the extremely powerful effect that light has on the body's natural sleep/wake pattern, and may thereby play a role in perpetuating sleep deficiency. Advertisement

'We found the body's natural circadian rhythms were interrupted by the short-wavelength enriched light, otherwise known as blue light, from these electronic devices,' said said Anne-Marie Chang of Brigham and Women's Hospital, who led the study.

'Participants reading an LE-eBook took longer to fall asleep and had reduced evening sleepiness, reduced melatonin secretion, later timing of their circadian clock and reduced next-morning alertness than when reading a printed book.'

The research, published in published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today, found of a light-emitting electronic device (LE-eBook) in the hours before bedtime can adversely impact overall health, alertness, and the circadian clock which synchronizes the daily rhythm of sleep to external environmental time cues.

Previous research has shown that blue light suppresses melatonin, impacts the circadian clock and increase alertness, but little was known about the effects of this popular technology on sleep.

The use of light emitting devices immediately before bedtime is a concern because of the extremely powerful effect that light has on the body's natural sleep/wake pattern, and may thereby play a role in perpetuating sleep deficiency.

During the two-week inpatient study, twelve participants read LE-e-Books on an iPad for four hours before bedtime each night for five consecutive nights.

This was repeated with printed books.

Although iPads were used in this study, BWH researchers also measured other eReaders, laptops, cell phones, LED monitors, and other electronic devices, all emitting blue light.

The order was randomized with some reading the iPad first and others reading the printed book first.

Participants reading on the iPad took longer to fall asleep, were less sleepy in the evening, and spent less time in REM sleep.

The iPad readers had reduced secretion of melatonin, a hormone which normally rises in the evening and plays a role in inducing sleepiness.

Participants who read from the iPad were less sleepy before bedtime, but sleepier and less alert the following morning after eight hours of sleep.

Additionally, iPad readers had a delayed circadian rhythm, indicated by melatonin levels, of more than an hour.

Participants who read from the iPad were less sleepy before bedtime, but sleepier and less alert the following morning after eight hours of sleep.

'In the past 50 years, there has been a decline in average sleep duration and quality,' stated Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, FRCP, chief, BWH Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders.

'Since more people are choosing electronic devices for reading, communication and entertainment, particularly children and adolescents who already experience significant sleep loss, epidemiological research evaluating the long-term consequences of these devices on health and safety is urgently needed.'