topic Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance in Community Chat

Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

lolakimono — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:23:51 GMT

Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160126162227.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Researcher finds that instant messaging in the dark makes a difference compared to having the lights on

Date: January 26, 2016 Source: Rutgers University

Summary: A new study is the first of its kind to link nighttime instant messaging habits of American teenagers to sleep health and school performance. Media use among children of all ages is increasing exponentially; studies have found that children ages 8 to 18 use electronic devices approximately seven-and-a-half hours daily.

Research has found that students who turned off their devices or who messaged for less than 30 minutes after lights out performed significantly better in school than those who messaged for more than 30 minutes after lights out.

Can't stop texting? If you're a teenager, it may be to blame for falling grades and increased yawning in school, according to a new Rutgers study.

The study, published in the Journal of Child Neurology, is the first of its kind to link nighttime instant messaging habits of American teenagers to sleep health and school performance.

"We need to be aware that teenagers are using electronic devices excessively and have a unique physiology," says study author Xue Ming, professor of neuroscience and neurology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. "They tend to go to sleep late and get up late. When we go against that natural rhythm, students become less efficient."

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that media use among children of all ages is increasing exponentially; studies have found that children ages 8 to 18 use electronic devices approximately seven-and-a-half hours daily.

Ming's research is part of a small but growing body of evidence on the negative effects of electronics on sleep and school performance. But few studies, Ming says, have focused specifically on instant messaging.

"During the last few years I have noticed an increased use of smartphones by my patients with sleep problems," Ming says. "I wanted to isolate how messaging alone - especially after the lights are out - contributes to sleep-related problems and academic performance."

To conduct her study, Ming distributed surveys to three New Jersey high schools - a suburban and an urban public school and a private school - and evaluated the 1,537 responses contrasting grades, sexes, messaging duration and whether the texting occurred before or after lights out.

She found that students who turned off their devices or who messaged for less than 30 minutes after lights out performed significantly better in school than those who messaged for more than 30 minutes after lights out.

Students who texted longer in the dark also slept fewer hours and were sleepier during the day than those who stopped messaging when they went to bed. Texting before lights out did not affect academic performance, the study found.

Although females reported more messaging overall and more daytime sleepiness, they had better academic performance than males. "I attribute this to the fact that the girls texted primarily before turning off the light," Ming says.

The effects of "blue light" emitted from smartphones and tablets are intensified when viewed in a dark room, Ming says. This short wavelength light can have a strong impact on daytime sleepiness symptoms since it can delay melatonin release, making it more difficult to fall asleep - even when seen through closed eyelids.

"When we turn the lights off, it should be to make a gradual transition from wakefulness to sleep," Ming says. "If a person keeps getting text messages with alerts and light emission, that also can disrupt his circadian rhythm. Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the period during sleep most important to learning, memory consolidation and social adjustment in adolescents. When falling asleep is delayed but rising time is not, REM sleep will be cut short, which can affect learning and memory."

Ming notes some benefits to early-evening media use, such as facilitating collaboration for school projects, providing resources for tutoring, increasing school readiness and possibly offering emotional support systems.

She suggests that educators recognize the sleep needs of teenagers and incorporate sleep education in their curriculum. "Sleep is not a luxury; it's a biological necessity. Adolescents are not receiving the optimal amount of sleep; they should be getting 8-and-a-half hours a night," says Ming. "Sleep deprivation is a strong argument in favor of later start times for high schools - like 9 a.m."

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Rutgers University. The original item was written by Patti Verbanas. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

colliegirls — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:34:46 GMT

That is just one of the many reasons I take my teens cell phones away at 10pm and they stay in my room till time for school.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

Nataliesgramma — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:41:04 GMT

I don't get the need to text constantly......

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

panda1234 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:51:13 GMT

Someone was selling a "blue light" screen cover/filter because that light is not good for anyone.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

insomniac — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:32:37 GMT

This is fascinating!

I do have to respond to one suggestion made in the article--having students start school later in the morning. That will never happen. Why? Because of sports. Sport activities drive the schedule.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

MaggieMack — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:36:33 GMT

@colliegirls wrote:
That is just one of the many reasons I take my teens cell phones away at 10pm and they stay in my room till time for school.

Good parenting! One of my friends does this with her two teens. I think it's a rare parent who does, though.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

lolakimono — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:42:48 GMT

@insomniac wrote:
This is fascinating!

I do have to respond to one suggestion made in the article--having students start school later in the morning. That will never happen. Why? Because of sports. Sport activities drive the schedule.

@insomniac

My employer is considering this. I think the "cheapest" estimate is about 9 million dollars, due to staffing and transportation issues.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

butterfly123 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 13:13:22 GMT

My questions are

Should school start later to accommodate the students and how do the all the instructors and faculty feel about starting school later?

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

butterfly123 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 13:20:39 GMT

@colliegirls wrote:
That is just one of the many reasons I take my teens cell phones away at 10pm and they stay in my room till time for school.

@colliegirls

You are the a role model for other parents to follow. This shows how much you love your kids and their well being.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

millieshops — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:22:09 GMT

Lots of things drive that schedule, but sports come first, I suspect. When I retired 15 years ago, some of our teams had practices which began at 5 AM even and some started well after the dinner hour, so sports was practically around the clock. Some kids who were on private hockey teams All the weird hours had to do with finding gym space or rink space.

The other major issue driving school starting time for us was the buses - we had one set which rotated from HS to MS to ES. Money was the reason there - it would have tripled costs to have all the schools start at one time.

On the thread issue - I can't even imagine how frustrating it is to parents and teachers and coaches that their kids are talking and/or texting 24/7. Sleepiness was already a problem before the smartphone, but the reasons were different and affected a much smaller percentage of the population.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

hckynutjohn — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 21:22:26 GMT

Seems like a waste of time/money study to me. Can't tell you how many times I've walked away during a conversation when the other person starts punching cell phone keys.

Even tell my wife, " let me know when you are ready to talk again". Won't fe long before texting dies and Skype and other video to video take over completely. Be time for another study. Those "researchers" gotta eat, and text too.

hckynutjohn)

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

Noel7 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 22:01:36 GMT

Exposure to bright light can change sleep patterns.

Apple has a night or dark setting that's supposed to help.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

Noel7 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 22:04:17 GMT

@butterfly123 wrote:
My questions are
Should school start later to accommodate the students and how do the all the instructors and faculty feel about starting school later?

****************************

It's not to accomodate them, it's because of the way the teenage brain works. They don't learn well in the morning, and it is not because they were up texting, it's the way the young brain functions.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

Noel7 — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 22:10:15 GMT

One reference to the studies and mention that some teachers disagree:

"The American study found that teenagers' biological clocks run later because a hormone known as melatonin, which promotes sleepiness, starts to be secreted in the brain much later than in adults.

The researchers found that students' performance in exams also went down when they sat them in the morning compared to the afternoon."

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

colliegirls — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 00:46:21 GMT

The real problem is that teens stay up too late and some are texting long into the night. The petty teen drama is unbelievable. My teens phones would vibrate at 1 or 2am ( while the phones were with me in our room). We learned we had to turn them off) Are you kidding me?? Who is calling them at that time?? The teens should be asleep in the middle of the night, not communicating. It doesn't matter what type of light they have at that hour, they should be asleep and their phones should be OFF!! High school starts at 7am here! Unless the computer is needed for a big project or homework, there is no technology at our house (laptops and phones are in the bedroom with my husband and I) from 10pm till they walk out the door to school at 6:15.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

MacDUFF — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 00:53:52 GMT

We needed a Rutgers' study to know this?? I could have told them the same thing for free and taken 15 seconds to do so.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

debcakes — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 01:30:25 GMT

No study needed. Just ask high school teachers. I have taught high school since before anyone had a cell phone. The new phones have so much on them to keep teens up at night. So many more students fall asleep in class. When asked why, they will say that they were gaming or texting all night.

Parents need to be in charge. Kudos to those who keep the phones and tablets at night. While you are at it remind them not to have the phones out during class.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

ROMARY — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 01:52:47 GMT

Also: I truly believe that these kids (who over-text) will eventually have thumb problems, similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. Overuse of those thumbs most of the day and night, without any thumb rest. JMO

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

abbeythe 8th — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 02:00:35 GMT

@ROMARY wrote:
Also: I truly believe that these kids (who over-text) will eventually have thumb problems, similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. Overuse of those thumbs most of the day and night, without any thumb rest. JMO

It's not just teens who are texting. You need only sit in a doctor's office, coffee shop, hair salon, etc. Women, more than men, are texting nonstop.

Re: Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance

ROMARY — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 02:25:34 GMT

Very true, Abbey. I think that I was thinking that maybe the younger kids/teens will have many more (in the long run) cumulative years texting, and perhaps the adults of today didn't start texting at a very, very young age. I don't know for sure, though. It all depends on when texting began, I guess. And if the adults are texting all day long at their jobs, etc. (They could be retired.) Well, whatever. Hopefully I'm wrong. I love being wrong regarding these matters.