Over the holidays people can tend to hibernate a little--especially at this time of year. They're catching up on the sleep they miss out on during the daily grind, but modern technology might be throwing a spanner in the works.
Juulia Ollikainen from Kirkkonummi usually goes to bed at around 10 pm--but during the holidays she stays up until midnight. Her routine is a familiar teenage cycle--games, TV, reading on the internet and chatting with friends.
That's a problem, because the blue light emitted from led screens has been shown in studies to disrupt sleep. It works by inhibiting the production of the so-called "sleep hormone" melatonin--and the effect is especially pronounced among teenagers.
In Finland a study by Jyväskylä University found that sleep problems among school-age children have doubled in the last two decades. That's a phenomenon that Ollikainen reports among her colleagues, especially on Monday mornings.
Her parents, on the other hand, try to keep a different rythm. They go to bed at the same time whether they're on holiday or heading to work--and that eases the transition back to the working week.
That's the challenge for kids and parents alike--with many of them set to head back to school on Wednesday.
