'Tech overdose' kills student sleep

Teenagers who are regular night owls are more likely to miss out on proper sleep due to their technology use, according to new UniSA research.

The researchers found that students with a “late sleep chronotype” may be more at risk of disturbed sleep from excess technology than their “early sleep chronotype” peers.

The study compared bedtime “digital diets” of 462 Australian school students (aged 12–18 years) on weekdays and weekends, finding that technology use and sleep differ on weekends compared to weekdays.

Specifically, social media or texting was predictive of shorter sleep on weekends (but not weekdays), and TV/streaming was predictive of a later wake time on weekdays (but not weekends).

Teens with a late sleep chronotype were associated with more frequent technology use, with older teens more likely to use social media/texting or TV/streaming, and younger teens more likely to be gaming.

UniSA researcher and postgraduate student Alexander Reardon said that understanding the links between sleep and technology use is important, especially as children have recently returned to school.

“Owning a mobile phone and having access to technology is common for many young people, but teenagers are notorious for being ‘glued’ to their phone or device, and it’s important that we understand how this might affect different aspects of their lives,” Reardon said.

“We already know that many teenagers don’t get enough sleep on school days. This can be quite normal as teenagers tend to experience natural delays in their ‘body clocks’ as they get older, leading them to go to bed later and get up later. But most of these teens catch up on missed sleep on weekends when they have a chance to ‘sleep in’.

“Yet when we add technology to the mix, this catch-up sleep is far less likely to happen, leaving many teenagers with a serious sleep deficit.”

Australian sleep health guidelines recommend that teenagers get between 8 and 10 hours of sleep a day.

UniSA researcher Dr Alex Agostini said that without enough sleep teenagers are more likely to struggle with schooling and wellbeing.

“When we don’t get enough sleep, we can experience problems with thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood, all of which make it harder to perform daily tasks and increase the risks of mistakes,” Agostini said.

“Teenagers often need to learn good sleep habits. This can include everything from the benefits of a sleep routine, finding ways to wind down, as well as cutting back on late night technology use.

“For teens and parents, the message is clear: cut back on night-time tech and not only will get a better night’s sleep, but everyone will be in a better head space the next day.”

Image credit: iStock.com/SbytovaMN