Vamping, which consists of using electronic devices before going to sleep with the consequent reduction in sleeping hours, is a growing phenomenon, especially in teenagers. Tips To Avoid Vamping.
Children are not saved because they have mobile phones at a younger and younger age.
This practice has negative health effects. One of the problems of vamping lies in the short-wave blue light emitted by electronic devices such as a tablet or mobile phone.
To fall asleep, our body secretes melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle, and the brain begins to produce it approximately two hours before we go to sleep.
“The screens of these devices have an illumination with a wavelength very similar to natural light when it is daylight.
When this light reaches the retina, it deceives the brain and makes it think that night has not yet arrived.
If the screen is very bright, the sensation of daylight is greater,” explains Pilar García Fernández, a neuropediatrician at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN).
“The e-books or electronic books with light are the only ones that can be used before going to sleep, because they are equivalent to the effect of reading on paper.
There are filters that reduce the blue light mentioned above, but what they don’t minimize is the addiction to electronic devices,” warns García Fernández.
And it is that “the habitual use of screens before sleeping generates an addiction, that can be compared to the one given with drugs.
Patients who practice vamping make statements like I can’t stop using it and I look at it more and more frequently.
They go to bed with their mobile phone, they are watching it until 1 or 2 in the morning, they wake up at dawn because they have heard a beep and they know that a message has entered and they look at it again”, adds García Fernández.
The expert comments that this dependence produces symptoms such as tachycardias and sweating if the telephone is not checked, and that the “Proyecto Hombre Association” has already told them that they are receiving more new cases of young people with mobile addiction than alcohol.
Is there more Risk of Vamping in Young People than in Adults?
According to CUN specialists, some research shows that the lack of sleep caused by the use of screens is more harmful to children, since melatonin production is reduced up to 90 percent more than in adults.
On the other hand, the youngest population is often the one with the highest levels of use of new technologies and the most vulnerable to the appearance of addictive behaviours.
Blue Light also Fattens
In addition to affecting the quantity and quality of sleep, the alteration in the segregation of melatonin influences the appetite.
“The light from the screens inhibits the production of this hormone, increasing the production of neuropeptides, which stimulates our appetite and appetite for more fatty foods and sweets.
For this reason, if we do not respect our sleep cycles and, in addition, we use screens before going to sleep, we alter the natural process, we get hungrier, we crave more sweets and we get fatter”, says María Alija, pediatric endocrinologist at CUN.
“Several studies show that sleeping between three and five hours less than usual leads to consuming 385 more calories a day, which leads to weight gain if it occurs over a long period of time,” adds Alija.
Also, the reduction in hours of sleep causes increased tiredness and, therefore, reduces activity, something that, in the long term, will also affect weight.
“When we sleep, it’s not just the number of hours that matters, but the quality of our sleep at all stages.
Adequate rest is necessary to perform effectively, think clearly, establish memory and react with agility.
An optimal sleep prevents diseases such as heart attacks, strokes or depressions”, says Elena Urrestarazu, specialist in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology at the CUN Sleep Unit.
How to Get your Child a Good Night’s Sleep
Based on his experience in consultation, Garcia Fernandez comments that most of his adolescent patients have no rules at home on the rational use of mobile phones.
To prevent vamping and improve the quality of sleep of minors, the neuropediatrician gives the following messages:
- Stop using the screens two hours before going to bed to avoid the effect of blue light on melatonin.
- At night the mobile phone should always be out of the bedroom to escape the temptations.
- Encourage a good education in sleep hygiene. Routines are acquired from small.
- Television is also considered vamping. “We see children of 3 or 4 years of age to those who put the TV to sleep,” warns the specialist in Neuropediatrics.
- Reading and commenting on how the day has gone are recommended bedtime activities.
- If the child says that he has slept awake, do not give him the mobile as an “easy” solution for him to fall asleep.
- In short, parents must educate by example.
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