Computer Games and Sleep
14-10-2012
If you had already thought that letting your teen play video games for too long was not the best idea, and let’s admit it, that would probably be every parent, then you are right. Recent research has shown that as well as all the other issues that come with extensive video gaming, staying up late to play video games can lead to diabetes in teenagers.
The reasons for this link are numerous. First, there is the total inactivity, there is staying up late, then there are the snacks that most video gamers eat—chips, soft drinks, chocolate and other fat laden foods—which all contribute to the connection between video gaming and diabetes.
Karen Matthews, a University of Pittsburgh psychiatry professor and the lead author of the new study says spending too much time with video games could lower resistance to insulin, thereby leading to the potentially deadly disease. The study found that the most important aspect is getting the proper amount of sleep.
It found that if teenagers who would normally get six hours of sleep per night get one extra hour of sleep, they would improve insulin resistance by 9 per cent, but if they got one hour less then they would experience they would suffer a similar drop in insulin resistance.
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