#sleepyteens

Smartphone use has invaded many aspects in our society and one major impact has been upon teens and their sleep. Knowledge is power, and knowing the impact that devices are having on our kids means we can make a plan of action, so what does the research tell us?

Back in 1991, 71% of teens slept more than 7 hours a night but with the introduction of smartphones that has dropped to 22%, so 88% of adolescents are sleeping less than 7 hour night (Twenge, Krizan & Hisler, 2017). For teens, a lack of sleep means an increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety which can result in poor academic performance. But for any student, using their phones late into the night disrupts their circadian cycles, this means the light from the phone acts as a stimulant, keeping them awake longer and delaying any feeling of tiredness (Lemola et al., 2015). Of the teens who use social media late at night while in bed, 25% reported finding it challenging to go back to sleep after responding to late night notifications (Scott, Biello & Woods, 2019). Nighttime use of a device, especially social media apps and gaming is negatively impacting our students’ well-being through a lack of sleep.

The “Fear of Missing Out” or FOMO has been researched and can be defined as a general state of anxiety at missing out on rewarding experiences, often driven by social media engagement. This form of anxiety in adolescents is a real challenge and issue for many students. Some teens have a deep emotional investment in social media and experience distress when they are disconnected and unable to respond immediately to notifications (Scott & Woods, 2018). It has been cautioned that a complete withdrawal of devices at night may cause more distress and researchers recommend talking with teens about their anxiety to formulate a gradual release in order to address FOMO anxiety (Scott & Woods, 2018). Families can discuss different solutions to see what the best fit is for their child. There are a range of options: for some families phones being left out of the bedroom may work and for others the removal of notifications from social media apps may be a solution. Talking with our teens is an important part in any action.

As a school, the move towards a plan that supports more discussions around well-being will help our students’ life balance. Hopefully, working together we can support our teens in making choices that will allow them a good night sleep.

References

Lemola, S., Perkinson-Gloor, N., Brand, S., Dewald-Kaufmann, J. F., & Grob, A. (2015). Adolescents’ electronic media use at night, sleep disturbance, and depressive symptoms in the smartphone age. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(2), 405-418. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0176-x

Scott, H., & Woods, H. C. (2018). Fear of missing out and sleep: Cognitive behavioural factors in adolescents' nighttime social media use. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 61-65. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.07.009

Scott, H., Biello, S. M., & Woods, H. C. (2019). Social media use and adolescent sleep patterns: Cross-sectional findings from the UK millennium cohort study. BMJ Open, 9(9), e031161.

Twenge, J. M., Krizan, Z., & Hisler, G. (2017). Decreases in self-reported sleep duration among U.S. adolescents 2009–2015 and association with new media screen time. Sleep Medicine, 39, 47-53. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2017.08.013