When a cell phone rings, everyone grabs for their phone. Cell phones are the last thing students look at before bed and the first thing students look at in the morning. Americans are addicted to their cell phones. Allday.com said, “Try to resist the temptation of checking your electronic device, especially before you go to bed.”

Businessfinder.com has the same view on this situation. “Looking at a cell phone before bed, can be harmful to your health.” The blue light that the screen gives off can damage  melatonin in the brain. This is a hormone that the body produces to help people fall asleep.

A student comes home from a long day at school and goes into their room to go to bed. He turns off his lights and grabs their electronic device to watch Netflix. The bright light from the device is going to keep them up for hours, and they will not be receiving the appropriate amount of sleep that they need for the next day. Phones are designed to be able to be seen even in the brightest of days. This bright light has the same sense as what it is during broad daylight. The light on phones at night is destroying the melatonin in the brain. The hormone melatonin cues the rest of the body when it is time for bed.

This directly affects Pleasant Valley because students should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Students are on their phones during class when they should be paying attention. Times like lunch and in the hallways are times that students should be spending communicating with their peers. Cell phones are taking away from this time because students are interacting more on their phones and less in the classroom. This causes one of the most important skills, communication, to be lost in today’s youth.

To help with the loss of melatonin caused from looking at a phone, there are precautions students can take. The first thing that would help is to not look at a cell phone or any electronic device before bed. This is helpful because this gives the brain an hour to produce the chemicals needed before bed. The second precaution is to turn on the setting on phones called Night Mode. According to  Apple, “Night Mode can actually help you get a better night’s sleep.” Turning on Night Mode gives the screen an orange tint. Within the phone, one can tell Night Mode what time it should turn on and what time it should turn off. Having Night Mode on alters the phone so that the bright screen does not have such a large effect on melatonin loss. This precaution will not solve the problem entirely, but it will slow down the process and allow one to obtain those essential hours of sleep.