Too Much Cell Phone Depriving Teens Off Night Sleep: Study

Mounting stress and sleepless nights are now associated with frequent use of mobile phones, a new Swedish study finds. Furthermore, teens addicted to their cell phones are placing their health at higher risks, the findings presented at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies annual meeting, in Baltimore hints.

To identify the links between cell phone usage and associated health risks, the study, SLEEP 2008, looked at 21 otherwise healthy teenagers, aged between 14 and 20 years. They had "regular working/studying hours" and were not previously diagnosed with any particular sleep irregularity, researchers pointed.

Based on their self-reported cell phone usage, the volunteers were split into two groups. While one group made fewer than five calls and sent fewer than five text messages a day, the other group made more than 15 calls and sent more than 15 messages.

The volunteers were then required to fill in questionnaires hinting lifestyle status, sleep quality and self perceptions regarding depressiondefine, anger and self-esteem. They were also required to maintain a sleep diary for a week.

Teenagers who sent more than five text messages or made more than five calls a day were not getting a good night’s sleep, researchers found.

Also, frequent mobile phone users were more restless, had a more 'careless' lifestyle, consumed more stimulating beverages, reported disrupted sleep issues and were more susceptible to stress and fatigue as compared to moderate mobile phone users, researchers report.

"Addiction to phones is becoming common. Youngsters feel pressure to be interconnected and reachable round the clock," Study’s lead author Dr Gaby Badre said.

"It is necessary to increase their awareness of the negative effects of excessive phone use on their sleep- wake patterns, with serious health risks as well as attention and cognitive problems," Badre added.

Where adults are advised to seven and eight hours sleep a night, doctors recommend a nine hours sleep for adolescents. Also, upon getting into school and studies, adolescents often get into a pattern of getting less sleep on school nights, so having to "make up" the difference at weekends is vital, researchers urge.