Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : February 4, 2015 10:49 AM IST
There is rarely any teenager nowadays who doesn't love spending time with phones and tablets or watch TV for long hours. While advance technology and lifestyle changes can be blamed for this change, it largely affects one's sleeping patterns, a study has revealed.
The study was conducted on almost 10,000 16 to 19 year olds. The teens were asked how much screen time they spent outside of school hours, and on what activities, for any of the following electronic devices: computer; Smartphone; Mp3 player; tablet; games console; and TV. They were also asked questions about their sleep routine on weekdays and at weekends: when they normally went to bed and got up; how much sleep they needed to feel rested; and how long it took them get to sleep (sleep onset latency). (Read: Beware your smart phone could ruin your eyes!)
While games console use was more popular among the boys, girls were more likely to use smartphones and Mp3 players. Almost all of the teens said they used one or more electronic devices shortly (an hour) before going to bed. Although frequency of use differed among the various devices, use of any device during the day and in the hour before bedtime was linked to a heightened risk of taking longer than 60 minutes to get to sleep.
In particular, use of a computer, smart phones, or Mp3 player in the hour before bedtime was significantly associated with taking longer to fall asleep. A period of more than half an hour is normally defined as long sleep latency in adults, say the researchers. Total daytime screen use of more than 4 hours was linked to a 49 percent greater risk of taking longer than 60 minutes to fall asleep.(Read: How dangerous is your child s internet and smart phone addiction?)
And a total of more than 2 hours ofscreentime after school was strongly linked to both longer sleep onset latency and shorter sleep duration.When the analysis looked at individual devices, the strongest association for shortened sleep and less sleep than deemed necessary was found for computers, although this technology was one of the most commonly used of all the electronic platforms. Screen use may simply replace sleeping time or may interfere with sleep by stimulating the nervous system, suggest the researchers, in a bid to explain their findings, alternatively, the light emitted from electronic devices may interfere with the body clock (circadian rhythm). (Read: Smartphones responsible for your kids daytime sleepiness)
With inputs from ANI
Image source: Getty Images
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