circadian rhythm

 My sleep schedule has been messed up AGAIN ╯︿╰

But it's probably me who's at fault. You see, blue light from electronic devices like laptops and phones supresses melatonin production. Melatonin is the opposite of serotonin (the "happy" hormone) and stimulates tiredness and urges you to sleep. 

When we don't look at screens at night, the lower ambient light levels cause melatonin production to ramp up, making us feel tired. But if we blast our eyes with light from laptops, TVs or phones (especially in light mode), we literally trick our bodies into thinking its daytime. As such, melatonin levels plummet and we don't feel tired until we've literally exhausted ourselves.

As such, we are increasingly falling asleep due to exhaustion of our cells and not the effects of melatonin. This modern phenomenon is counterintuitive to the purpose of melatonin, which is to get us to fall asleep before our cells are worn out and we are forced to sleep. Oh no!

On the 10th of July 2025, which was 2 days ago, I found myself reorganising my Notion workspace well into 1 am. Of course, you can only imagine how sore my body was from sitting for so long, and how painful my eyes were from being pummeled by light for so long. 

Personally, I think that the cure to such insomnolent disasters lies in an old technology: books. Unlike screens, books don't emit light, they reflect light. As such, the intensity of the light entering your eyes when you read a book is considerably less when you stare at a screen. Also, unlike tossing and turning in bed because you can't stop overthinking, books require mental energy to comprehend, which can distract you from overthinking and focus your jumbled neurons on a single event or idea. I find that really relaxing. For extra points, reading books by the fireplace or in a room with low, orange ambient light stimulates melatonin production, guiding you to a peaceful slumber.

Let the crumbly pages caress your tired soul (￣▽￣)