Original ArticleAssociations between specific technologies and adolescent sleep quantity, sleep quality, and parasomnias
Introduction
The impact of sleep duration and sleep difficulties on health and performance is increasingly recognized [1], [2]. Adolescence is associated with circadian phase alterations, which conflicts with social demands; thus this important developmental period is commonly accompanied by sleep deprivation [3]. Sleep problems also are frequently reported in adolescence and can be categorized into insomnia (difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep) [4], daytime sleepiness [5], parasomnias (sleep terrors, sleepwalking, bruxism, and nightmares) [6], and movement disorders (e.g., restless legs syndrome) [7].
Ownership and use of multiple technology devices is increasing and is prevalent in the adolescent population [8]. Calamaro et al. [9] showed that children ages 6–10 years with three technology types in their bedroom achieved 45 min less sleep than those without. Although there are multiple benefits from modern technology, its use may promote and exacerbate adolescent sleep deprivation. Television viewing [10], video gaming [11], computer use [11], and mobile telephone use [12] have been associated with reduced sleep duration or sleep disturbance. However, little is known about the effects of social networking on sleep, especially in young adolescents who commonly engage in this form of electronic communication with peers. Shorter sleep duration, also associated with daytime sleepiness, has been linked with negative consequences for health and performance such as obesity [13] and lower school grades [2], [14].
The impact of technology use on sleep parameters aside from sleep duration, including sleep-onset latency (SOL), sleep difficulties, nighttime awakenings, and parasomnias also may be important. Munezawa et al. [6] demonstrated that mobile telephone use after lights out was significantly associated with sleep disturbances, including short sleep duration, reduced sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, as well as symptoms of insomnia in a large sample of Japanese adolescents aged 13–18 years. King et al. [15] experimentally showed a decrease in objective sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and rapid eye movement sleep along with an increased subjective SOL in adolescents (mean age, 16 years). To date, no studies have examined the impact of specific technologies on multiple sleep parameters in a young adolescent sample. Therefore, we sought to examine these relationships in a large early adolescent cohort.
Section snippets
Study population
Seven schools were randomly selected and recruited into the Midlands Adolescents Schools Sleep Education Study. Parents of registered students were mailed a letter regarding study participation. Student participants were included if they (1) provided parental consent, (2) provided personal written consent, (3) were not previously diagnosed with a sleep disorder, (4) were not taking sleep medication, or (5) had not traveled to a different time zone 4 weeks prior to data collection. A total of
Results
Of the 959 student volunteers who provided data, 738 (77%) had complete information on all variables of interest. There was a negative correlation between the quantity of bedroom technology and sleep duration (r = 0.15; P < .001). No relationships were observed for quantity of bedroom technology with any other sleep parameters. Although those with an evening circadian preference (n = 459) had a slightly longer mean SOL (28 min) compared to those with a morning circadian preference (26 min), this
Sleep quantity
Although our findings have shown a significant reduction in weekday sleep duration for bedtime use of all technologies assessed, the greatest impact was observed with frequent users of social networking sites who reported almost 1-h less sleep. These findings are consistent with a recent study reporting that 37% of 268 young adolescents lost sleep on ⩾1 occasion due to social networking [19]. Our data also show that computer use for studying had a negative impact on weekday sleep duration,
Conclusions
Engaging in weekday bedtime technology use may adversely effect the sleep of adolescents. Frequent bedtime technology use of any of the devices we investigated was associated with reduced sleep duration. Frequency of use rather than quantity of bedroom technology appears to be more harmful in this age group. Adolescents who listen to music at bedtime may be at greater risk for sleep problems. The link between parasomnias and bedtime technology use provides novel evidence. Future studies should
Funding sources
This study was funded by the Children’s Charity, Action Medical Research.
Conflict of interest
The ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest associated with this article can be viewed by clicking on the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2013.08.799.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Children’s Charity, Action Medical Research. Dr. Taheri received funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Birmingham and Black Country (CLAHRC-BBC) program. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the NIHR, the Department of Health, NHS Partner Trusts, Weill Cornell Medical College, University of Birmingham or the CLAHRC-BBC Theme 8
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