The investigators will examine whether there is a difference between one-time and multiple exposures to computer screen lighting (350 lux). The investigators hypothesize that multiple and continuous exposure will have a more significant detrimental effect on the quality of sleep and consequently on performance, emotional, and physiological indicators, than one-time exposure to screen light.
Procedure:
On the base-line, first and fifth night of the study, at the end of two hours of exposure to screen light, the subject will be connected to the sleep test system by a skilled technician. On all other nights (nights 2-4), exposure to computer light only, will be conducted and at the end of the exposure the subject will be asked to go to sleep. During the entire experimental period the subject will wear an Actigraph watch to ensure regular sleeping hours. In addition, subjects will be asked not to expose themselves to a computer/tablet/smartphone screen from 20:00 h to wake up.
An Actigraph will monitor their sleep during the week of the experiment. The subject will be invited to attend the Sleep Institute at 21:00 h. The subject will be asked to enter the test room, which will be dark, and sit in front of a computer screen for two hours at a distance of about 60 cm from the screen and perform the on-screen tasks between the hours of 21:00 and 23:00 h. The tasks will include: reading and writing Microsoft Word documents, , and answering questions dealing with a document read and, solving verbal and arithmetic problems, while attempting to accomplish the task correctly and in the quickest time possible. The subject will be told that the purpose of the study is to examine the effect of the content of the tasks on the quality of sleep. During exposure, the subject will be allowed to eat and drink, but do not go to the bathroom. At the end of two hours of exposure to screen light, the subject will be connected to the sleep test system by a skilled technician. Body temperature and 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate(6-SMT) in the urine will be measured using the on-set and off-set methods three times, at 21:00, 23:00 h, and close to the falling asleep time. Three measurements will be taken after awakening. After the sleep test system is installed, the subject will be asked to go to sleep and in the morning will be woken at his/her average waking time. After the examinee has been woken and has provided a urine sample and body temperature measurement, the sleep test system will be removed and the examinees will be given 30 minutes to organize him/herself, before performing the following tasks to assess his/her degree of fatigue and sleepiness: Continous Performance Test (CPT-III), the Brief Symptoms Inevntory (BSI) emotional questionnaire, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) questionnaire.
