The use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and computers until late in the day and being “hooked” on social networks has increased sleep disorders that affect a third of the population, since they stimulate the retina and alter the secretion of melatonia. , a hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm of sleep.
This was stated at the XXIX national congress of the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG), the neurologist Emilio Gómez, who has reported that in addition to this third of the population, another 10% of Spaniards suffer from insomnia chronic, which is when you sleep badly more than three times a week for a minimum of three months.
According to this neurologist, these sleep disorders have led to an increase in the prescription of drugs of up to 120%.
These are hypnotics, “which are the most used but also the most dangerous due to the dependency they generate.”
The sleep problems are related to the pandemic, which has been a turning point in this pathology, as reported by the SEMG spokesman and member of the Mental Health working group, Lorenzo Armenteros.
This expert has explained that before the coronavirus, sleep disorders “were not so striking, and now the patient who comes to the consultation and does not report sleeping problems is rare.”
Other factors that affect the quality of sleep, in addition to the abuse of electronic devices, are the workload, little professional recognition, conflicting work situations and unemployment.
With data from EFE