CHARGING a phone or tablet in the bedroom can make us fat, according to a new study into the ‘sleep hormone’ melatonin.
Research from the University of Granada says that melatonin can combat obesity and diabetes, as healthy levels of the hormone help the body break down food efficiently.
But the new study has revealed that the light from gadget screens and computers can harm the body’s production of melatonin, causing us to put on weight.
Dr Simon Kyle, a sleep researcher at the University of Manchester, is looking at how regulating sleep patterns might help patients who already have diabetes – a disease often linked with obesity.
“There is a lot of research showing we are meant to be asleep at night when darkness falls and melatonin rises, and when the sun rises the melatonin is blocked by the sun. This light-dark cycle is good for our bodies,” said Kyle.
“So if you start sleeping shorter hours, or receive light at the wrong time late into the night, it disrupts melatonin secretion and that could contribute to alterations in metabolism.”
