Smartphone addiction is a controversial new topic that comes with numerous negative effects. One of those negative effects is smartphone addiction’s impact on sleep. People may love their smartphones, but they often don’t realize that their smartphones are associated with a loss of quality of sleep, and less resting time. As this is a growing issue, researchers have put extensive research into discovering the true impact of smartphone addiction on sleep. As this research developed and was analyzed, experts have discovered that smartphone overuse negatively impacts people’s sleep quality and duration.
As teenagers are a large proportion of the individuals that experience smartphone addiction, studies are often performed on them. Sleep experts have stated that teenagers should be getting nine hours of sleep a night, but in 2015, 43% of teenagers reported sleeping less than seven hours a night. This causes a nation-wide issue on sleep deprivation among young adolescents. This sleep deprivation can be explained by smartphone usage. Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, wrote in the article “Teens are sleeping less- but there’s a surprisingly easy fix”, “The blue light emitted by smartphones and tablets simulates daylight, inhibiting the brain’s production of melatonin, the hormone that helps us fall asleep and stay asleep.” As individuals spend time online and on social media by using their smartphones, the blue light makes it so individuals don’t recognize the actual time of the day, causing individuals to not feel tired at night. I have recognized this myself, as I often pick up my phone to catch up on social media before falling asleep, and getting carried away online due to not feeling as tired anymore. Many other individuals confirmed having this problem, as they state their smartphones are often the last thing they look at before they go to sleep. As a lack of melatonin is produced, people don’t feel as tired, and find it harder to fall asleep and stay in a deep sleep. This continued cycle of smartphone addiction causes a sleep deprivation problem nation-wide.
Smartphone addiction causes individuals to use their smartphones right before they fall asleep, affecting their sleeping cycle. Using smartphone devices before falling asleep causes people to have a lower quality of sleep. In a previously written article, “Your smartphone may be hurting your sleep”, by Susan Scutti, Scutti discussed this idea by referring to a previous study that explained “When we looked at smartphone use around the time when participants reported they went to bed, more smartphone use around that time in particular was associated with a longer time to fall asleep and worse sleep quality during the night”. Research made by experts all over have come to similar conclusions in which overuse of smartphones before sleeping is detrimental to one’s sleep, and causes sleep deprivation which creates further problems. Sleep quality is often lost, causing individuals to feel more tired. Smartphone addiction makes this predicament become repetitive, and the negative impact just keeps on stacking every night.
Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/health/smartphones-harm-sleep/index.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/analysis-teens-are-sleeping-less-why-smartphones
Smartphone Addiction 