Social media related to sleep problems

Posted on Wed, 30 Mar 16

A new study has found that social media use strongly predicts sleep disturbances in young adults, a finding with important implications for our health. 

Sleep disturbances and insomnia are very common, which is concerning as sleep problems are not only linked to your daily health and wellbeing but serious illnesses such as depression, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. 

In fact, 40% of adult’s report getting less than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, 38% wake up feeling unrefreshed, 21% have difficulty falling asleep at least a few nights per week, and 67% of young adults report not getting enough sleep to function properly, highlight the authors of the new study.

Social media could affect sleep in a few important ways including displacing sleep time, increased emotional and cognitive arousal, and the ability of light-emitting screens to disrupt of your circadian rhythm when used at night. 

In a survey of some 1788 young adults (ages 19-32) it was found that participants with higher social media use volume and frequency had significantly greater odds of having sleep disturbance. Interestingly, frequency of use was a stronger predictor of sleep problems than volume. 

“The rate of social media use has been growing rapidly in recent years,” commented the study investigators. “Additionally, disturbed and insufficient sleep has been associated with poor health outcomes. Thus, the strong association between social media use and sleep disturbance has important clinical implications for the health and well-being of young adults.”

Reference: 

Levenson JC, Shensa A, Sidani JE, et al. The association between social media use and sleep disturbance among young adults. Prev Med. 2016 Apr;85:36-41.