Mobile Phones are linked to disturbed sleep in Teenagers
According to new research coming out of Europe, teenagers who use their phone more than 15
times per day have more difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep than those who use their phones less often.
Gaby Badre, MD, PhD, of Sahlgren’s Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the London Clinic, in England studied 21 teenagers who got regular sleep and found that heavy users (those with 15 or more texts/calls per day) were more stressed.
Comparing light and heavy mobile phone users, the researchers found, heavy mobile phone use was associated:
- Getting up later in the morning.
- Waking up more often during the night.
- Spending more time tossing and turning before falling asleep.
- Drinking more soft drinks that pack a punch of caffeine.
- Drinking more alcohol.
What is unclear is whether mobile phone us causes sleep problems or whether teens who have sleep problems are more likely to use their mobile phones excessively. More research is planned to follow up that question.
