We live in a world of convenience where everything is just a finger swipe away. This means that even the most disciplined of us often find it hard to resist the time-wasting pitfalls of mindless scrolling.
Taking a break from your phone has been shown to improve mental wellbeing. But what about physical health? What if reducing those hours staring at a screen could benefit our waistline?
Melatonin is the hormone which regulates our circadian rhythm and signals to our body that it’s time to nod off. As little as two hours of exposure to light emitted from our devices can suppress melatonin production by 22%, meaning late night social media binges can cause significantly disrupted sleep patterns.
The knock-on effect is that a lack of sleep is linked to weight gain. This is because our body favours the production of ghrelin (the appetite increasing hormone) over leptin (the appetite suppressing hormone) when we’re tired. The result of bad sleep? We crave sugary, fatty junk foods to increase our energy levels. A regular intake of calorific foods means our body stores the excess energy as fat and we find it hard to shift the weight.
So, next time you find yourself falling into a digital rabbit hole of bedtime scrolling, switch off your phone, get some decent shut-eye and start reaping the weight loss benefits.
