As many young adults now own a smartphone or tablet, there is a wealth of information at their fingertips and a limitless supply of social media messages, games, music and TV intruding into the sleep cycle.
Evidence
suggests that social media and smartphones can have a negative impact on our
health with increased smartphone use associated with poor sleep outcomes, and
higher scores on depression and anxiety scales (Demirci, Akgonul & Akpinar,2015).
As we snuggle up
in the warmth of bed, our IT use can even promote the illusion of unwinding for
bedtime as we play candy crush, check Facebook, listen to music or read. This
can be a problem as circadian rhythms alter as young people mature, meaning
they are inclined to sleep less, and our IT use can interfere with this process
making healthy sleep patterns even harder to establish.
Read the full article at the Generation Next blog »