People should not use their smartphone within one hour of going to bed to prevent frequent urination, a doctor has said.
Captain Clinic president Liu Po-jen (劉博仁), an expert in functional nutrition, wrote on Facebook that blue light emitted by smartphones stimulates the central nervous system and disrupts sleep at night.
Blue light keeps the sympathetic nervous system from winding down, Liu quoted urologist Wang Hung-jen (王弘仁) as saying.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Blue light not only inhibits the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep cycles, but might also inhibit the production of antidiuretic hormones, which lower the kidneys’ production of urine, Liu said.
If the antidiuretic hormone level remains high at night, people would have to urinate more often, he added.
Middle-aged men who usually urinate more than twice per night, with a volume of at least one-third of the amount of urine during the day, should adjust their lifestyle and seek a doctor’s advice, he quoted Wang as saying.
Liu advised people who urinate often during the night to stop using their phone an hour before going to bed, as this would help balance their nervous system.
So as not to be tempted, people could put their phone outside their bedroom, he added.
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