Reports: Overuse of smartphones pr laptops can make you age faster
We are all constantly surrounded by technology toys and devices. Our daily lives now include a variety of electronics like phones, earbuds, smartwatches, and many others.
Today, it is difficult to picture living without a phone, but what if I told you that these technological advancements can actually accelerate the ageing process? That’s accurate. While we are aware that excessive use of technology can harm our eyesight and general health, a recent study suggests that it may also hasten the ageing process.
According to a study using animal models and published in the journal “Frontiers in Aging,” using devices like cellphones and laptops frequently may hasten the ageing process.
“Excessive exposure to blue light from common technologies, such as TVs, computers, and phones, may have adverse consequences on a wide range of cells in our body, from skin and fat cells to sensory neurons,” explains Jadwiga Giebultowicz, co-author of the study from Oregon State University in the US. She continued, “We are the first to demonstrate that the quantities of certain metabolites, molecules required for proper cell function, are altered in fruit flies exposed to blue light.
In contrast to fruit flies kept in complete darkness for a longer period of time, those exposed to light ‘switch on’ their stress-protective genes. In order to understand why high-energy blue light speeds up ageing in fruit flies, researchers compared the levels of metabolites in flies exposed to blue light for two weeks to those kept in complete darkness.
Researchers looked at the fly heads’ cells and discovered that after being exposed to blue light, the quantity of metabolites in the two sets varied greatly. In instance, they found that succinate levels had increased whereas glutamate levels had decreased.
According to the researchers’ observations, the flies’ cells failed to work properly, which caused them to die off early. This would also explain how they came to the earlier conclusion that blue light accelerates ageing.
In essence, the study suggested that metabolites, a chemical that the body uses to break down tissues, functioned differently in flies. More blue light exposure may also cause individuals to release the stress hormone. Cellular activity is triggered, causing us to age more quickly and to appear older.
According to reports, the blue light from devices inhibits the hormone that causes sleep, melatonin, from being produced. Therefore, cutting less on gadget use will promote earlier sleep and lessen digital stress.
