- Recent press releases
-
- Antioxidants may prevent cognitive impairment in diabetes
- Skin inflammation may increase your risk of type-2 diabetes
- Debate - Is the gut or the brain more important in regulating appetite and metabolism?
- Routine vitamin B12 screening may prevent irreversible nerve damage in type-2 diabetes
- Good nutrition could protect children from cognitive difficulties caused by early-life stress
- Women more resilient to extreme physical activity than previously reported
- Oestrogens in cows’ milk are unlikely to pose a threat to adult health
- Diabetic patients are more at risk of death from alcohol, accidents and suicide
- Too much vitamin A may increase risk of bone fractures
- Vitamin D supplements may promote weight loss in obese children
- Vitamin B supplements may protect kidney function in children with diabetes
- Bad habits in childhood may lead to an ‘unhealthy’ balance of gut bacteria and increase health risks in later life
- Lord Robert Winston cautions that advances in infertility therapies may be hindered by over-regulation
- New link identified between inflammation and depression in type-1 diabetes
- Walking a tightrope: universal thyroid testing could reduce pregnancy problems in some cases, but interfere with healthy pregnancies in others
- Brain stimulation may reduce food cravings as obesity treatment
- Larger waistlines are linked to higher risk of vitamin D deficiency
- Transgender brains are more like their desired gender from an early age
- Could intermittent fasting diets increase diabetes risk?
- Minimising exposure to common hormone-disrupting chemicals may reduce obesity rates
- Brain development disorders in children linked to common environmental toxin exposures
- Children born to mothers with low vitamin D levels may develop autism-like behaviours
- Over-the-counter antihistamines linked to impaired fertility in men
- Arthritis drug can lower sugar levels in diabetes
- Potential new target for reducing osteoporosis risk in men
- Successful male infertility treatment does not lower fertility of sons
- Warm temperatures can lead to misdiagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy
- Guidelines for management of recurrent pituitary tumours recommend new drug as first line treatment
- Taking paracetamol during pregnancy may reduce fertility of daughters
- Link found between morning sickness, smoking and healthy pregnancies
- High fat diet during childhood may increase PCOS risk later in life
- Early pregnancy test for cows improves welfare and food production
- International collaboration release revised guideline for improved management of Turner syndrome
- Treating PCOS with a combination of oral contraceptives and spironolactone does not increase the risk of diabetes or heart disease
- Vitamin D supplements could help pain management
- Breast cancer risk is more affected by total body fat than abdominal fat
- New nanotechnology application for difficult-to-treat cancers
- Just six months of frequent exercise improves men’s sperm quality
- Consuming more than two soft drinks a day can double risk of diabetes
- Age-related scarring in ovaries may explain reproductive decline
- Happy cows make more nutritious milk
- Third of pregnant women iron deficient; risk thyroid-related pregnancy complications
- New recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Adrenal Incidentalomas published in the European Journal of Endocrinology
- Sitting down for long periods when pregnant linked to weight gain and depression
- New drug provides safer alternative to conventional IVF treatment
- Enzyme potential target for fight against obesity and diabetes
- Bursts of high-intensity exercise could help diabetes patients manage low blood sugar levels
- Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis
- Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease
- Diabetes associated with increased risk of serious bacterial blood infection
- Breast cancer risk higher in women with overactive thyroid
- Injection of appetite gene may offer a more effective alternative to dieting
- Hyperthyroidism could be great cost to countries in disability benefits
- Mother’s hormone levels predict child’s ability to do maths
- Mentally tiring work may increase diabetes risk in women
- Obesity risk may be increased by exposure to common environmental chemicals
- Breastfeeding reduces long-term risk of heart disease in mothers
- Environmental toxins can impair sexual development and fertility of future generations
- Setting fair regulations for top female athletes that have naturally higher testosterone levels
- Sleep problems in teenagers reversed in just one week by limiting screen use
- Men ignore serious health risks of steroid abuse in pursuit of the body beautiful
- Protective effect of breastfeeding on childhood obesity risk linked to leptin gene modification
- Smoking during pregnancy may damage daughters’ future fertility
- Probiotic supplements may enhance weight loss in obese children
- Limiting mealtimes may increase your motivation for exercise
- Age is not a barrier to the benefits of weight-loss surgery
- New insights into cause and treatments for aggressive form of breast cancer
- Stress with disrupted body clock increases risk of metabolic disease
- Impaired liver function during pregnancy may increase risk of childhood obesity
- Vitamin B12 deficiency linked to obesity during pregnancy
- Common anti-inflammatory may increase risk of diabetes
- Mindfulness helps obese children lose weight
- Larger thighs associated with lower risk of heart disease in obesity
- COVID-19 severity is increased in patients with mild obesity
- Thyroid inflammation linked to anxiety disorders
- Evaluating hormone-related targets & risks associated with COVID-19
- Ghrelin may be an effective treatment for age-related muscle loss
- Probiotics may help manage childhood obesity
- Skin lightening products linked to altered steroid hormone levels
- Vitamin D levels in the blood can predict future health risks & death
- COVID-19 infection may impair fertility in men
- Obesity is linked to heavy periods and impaired womb repair
- New app helps parents identify treatable childhood growth disorders earlier
- Web of Science announces 2022 Journal Impact Factors
- More news
Sleep problems in teenagers reversed in just one week by limiting screen use
May 2019
Sleep in teenagers can be improved by just one week of limiting their evening exposure to light-emitting screens on phones, tablets and computers, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The study indicates that by simply limiting their exposure to blue-light emitting devices in the evening, adolescents can improve their sleep quality and reduce symptoms of fatigue, lack of concentration and bad mood, after just one week.
Recent studies have indicated that exposure to too much evening light, particularly the blue light emitted from screens on smartphones, tablets and computers can affect the brain’s clock and the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, resulting in disrupted sleep time and quality. The lack of sleep doesn’t just cause immediate symptoms of tiredness and poor concentration but can also increase the risk of more serious long-term health issues such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Other studies have suggested that sleep deprivation related to screen time may affect children and adolescents more than adults, but no studies have fully investigated how real-life exposure is affecting sleep in adolescents at home and whether it can be reversed.
In this collaborative study between the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, the Amsterdam UMC and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, researchers investigated the effects of blue light exposure on adolescents at home. Those who had more than 4 hours per day of screen time had on average 30 minutes later sleep onset and wake up times than those who recorded less than 1 hour per day of screen time, as well as more symptoms of sleep loss. The team conducted a randomised controlled trial to assess the effects of blocking blue light with glasses and no screen time during the evening on the sleep pattern of 25 frequent users. Both blocking blue light with glasses and screen abstinence resulted in sleep onset and wake up times occurring 20 minutes earlier, and a reduction in reported symptoms of sleep loss in participants, after just one week.
Dr Dirk Jan Stenvers from the department of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Amsterdam UMC says, “Adolescents increasingly spend more time on devices with screens and sleep complaints are frequent in this age group. Here we show very simply that these sleep complaints can be easily reversed by minimising evening screen use or exposure to blue light. Based on our data, it is likely that adolescent sleep complaints and delayed sleep onset are at least partly mediated by blue light from screens”
Dr Stenvers and his colleagues are now interested in whether the relationship between reduced screen time and improved sleep has longer lasting effects, and whether the same effects can be detected in adults.
Dr Stenvers comments, “Sleep disturbances start with minor symptoms of tiredness and poor concentration but in the long-term we know that sleep loss is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. If we can introduce simple measures now to tackle this issue, we can avoid greater health problems in years to come.”
---ENDS---
The poster, “Restoring the sleep disruption by blue light emitting screen use in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial” was presented on Monday 20 May 2019, at the European Congress of Endocrinology at the Lyon Convention Centre, Lyon, France.
The European Congress of Endocrinology was held at Lyon Convention Centre, Lyon, France on the 18-21 May 2019.
The European Society of Endocrinology was created to promote research, education and clinical practice in endocrinology by the organisation of conferences, training courses and publications, by raising public awareness, liaison with national and international legislators, and by any other appropriate means.
Recent Press Releases
Web of Science announces 2022 Journal Impact Factors
Mother’s hormone levels predict child’s ability to do maths
Hyperthyroidism could be great cost to countries in disability benefits
Injection of appetite gene may offer a more effective alternative to dieting
Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis