Canada: Concerns regarding the influence of social media platforms on youth mental health led the US Surgeon General to suggest a warning label for them.
The Surgeon General's Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health highlighted potential links between social media use and poor sleep quality in youth. Given these issues, what particular measures should teenagers and parents take to enhance sleep?
A new national study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, offers insights into screen habits linked with better sleep.
"Ensuring adolescents get enough sleep is vital, as it supports their physical and mental growth and development," says lead author Jason Nagata, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.
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"Our research found that leaving notifications on, even in silent mode, leads to less sleep compared to turning the phone off completely or keeping it outside the bedroom."
Tips include: Keep screens outside of the bedroom. Having a TV set or internet-connected device in the bedroom was associated with shorter sleep duration. Turn off the phone.
Leaving the phone ringer on or turning notifications to silent or vibrate was associated with less sleep compared to turning the phone off entirely.
Leaving the phone ringer on was associated with a 25% higher risk of sleep disturbance compared to turning it off.
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16.2% of adolescents reported having a phone call, text message, or e-mail wake them up after trying to go to sleep in the past week.
Don't use social media or other electronic devices before going to sleep.
Using social media, chatting on the internet, playing video games, browsing the internet, and watching or streaming movies, videos, or TV shows while in bed before sleeping were all associated with less sleep. (with Agency inputs)
