This has gotten lots of popular press attention -- Why You Shouldn't Read a Tablet Before Bed (Time), Open the Book, Put Down the Tablet at Bedtime (Wall Street Journal), etc. etc. -- as a study that shows people who did some evening reading on a "light-emitting device (LE-eBook)" (a tablet -- specifically, an iPad) "averaged nearly 10 min longer to fall asleep than in the print-book condition".
The study, in full, is Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) and sounds plausible enough -- but I have to wonder: a study size of twelve participants, of which only half are LE-eBook-exposed, is a sufficiently large sample size to conclude ... anything ?
I know I'd be more ... reassured if the experiment were repeated on a larger scale, and with a more diverse group of subjects. Indeed, this 'experiment' doesn't sound like it simulates anything resembling real-world conditions very closely at all, as:
Wouldn't it be more sensible to test on real-life human beings ? Yes, yes, a lot more complex, with all the variables -- but couldn't some of these also affect the reaction to LE-eBook reading ?
The study, in full, is Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) and sounds plausible enough -- but I have to wonder: a study size of twelve participants, of which only half are LE-eBook-exposed, is a sufficiently large sample size to conclude ... anything ?
I know I'd be more ... reassured if the experiment were repeated on a larger scale, and with a more diverse group of subjects. Indeed, this 'experiment' doesn't sound like it simulates anything resembling real-world conditions very closely at all, as:
Participants with chronic medical or psychological conditions or sleep disorders and those taking prescription medications were excluded from study. History of night work or shift work in the prior 3 y and travel across more than one time zone in the previous 3 mo was also exclusionary. The presence of any eye or vision abnormality or the inability to read in dim light without the use of corrective lenses was exclusionary. Participants were instructed to refrain from use of medications, drugs, alcohol, nicotine, or caffeinated products for 3 wk before admission, which was verified by toxicological testing upon admission to the laboratory. Participants were also required to maintain a fixed 8-h sleep schedule (10:00 PM to 6:00 AM)No coffee or booze ? A fixed, eight-hour (!) sleep schedule ? Who the hell manages that except in laboratory conditions ?
Wouldn't it be more sensible to test on real-life human beings ? Yes, yes, a lot more complex, with all the variables -- but couldn't some of these also affect the reaction to LE-eBook reading ?