"Smartphones and tablets may be making you sleepless, fat and sick"

[Computerworld - Having trouble sleeping? Gaining a bit of weight?

Your smartphone or computer might be to blame.

Actually, the problem is more likely about your obsession with your laptop and devices than the devices themselves.

A new study from researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. shows that even a two-hour exposure to any backlit device - smartphone, laptop, tablet - suppresses your body's ability to produce melatonin, which could cause sleeplessness, especially in teens and seniors.

Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulates the body's sleep clock.

The study also showed that exposure to back lighting over the course of "many consecutive" years could also lead to an increased risk for obesity and diabetes, as well as breast cancer.

"Technology developments have led to bigger and brighter televisions, computer screens, and cell phones," said university researcher Brittany Wood, who worked on the study. "This is particularly worrisome in populations such as young adults and adolescents, who already tend to be night owls."]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231368/Smartphones_and_tablets_may_be_making_you_sleepless_fat_and_sick?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-09-17