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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : March 14, 2014 1:09 PM IST
Mar 14 World Sleep Day
A new survey has revealed that pupils from a school in Cheshire are regularly going to bed in the early hours because they are constantly on social media. A poll of 250 students at Tarporley High School revealed that the teenagers spend an average three to four hours on the social networks every night. Fear of 'missing out on something' was cited as the main reason for students sacrificing sleep. The survey was conducted by students taking part in BBC News School Report. Fourteen-year-old twins Chris and Ollie asked fellow students about their social media habits and sleep patterns, which have been revealed to be a main reason why they are tired when they go to school. (Read: Long video game sessions can give you insomnia)
The Cheshire school's Deputy Head Teacher Lyndsay Watterson expressed shock at the reasons why pupils were overtired and pledged to take action. She told BBC 5 live's Victoria Derbyshire show that she would normally put tiredness at school down to the pressures of GCSEs and A-levels and admitted that she did not think use of social media was a factor before the School Reporters approached her with the results of the survey. Watterson pointed out that students were often not willing to share the information that social networking was responsible for tiredness for fear of the technology being confiscated. (Read: Beat insomnia with yoga)
She conceded she could not influence what the children did outside of school hours but pledged to raise awareness of the issues the School Reporters' survey found with parents. The School Reporters also interviewed parenting expert Dr Clare Halsey, who specialises in sleep. Her advice was to switch off all devices at least an hour before people needed to fall asleep. She told them the effects of lack of sleep included negative effects of concentration and attention which would affect school performance. (Read: Having trouble sleeping? Get help with these expert tips!)
What is insomnia?
Insomnia refers to the inability to fall asleep or to have an elongated period of sleep. It is also used to describe unrefreshing or incomplete sleep. Insomnia can either exist as an individual problem or it can be a symptom of an underlying condition (due to drugs or a neurological condition). Various reasons like hormonal changes, physical pain, stress, smoking, junk foods, caffeine, lack of physical activity and irregular sleeping habits can cause insomnia. Insomnia or irregular sleep is linked to the various lifestyle diseases like diabetes,hypertension and obesity. (Read: Could sleeping pills be making your insomnia worse?)
With inputs from ANI
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