Most every teenagers in the present day own at least one electronic device. They occupy our time during the day with social media, games, work and other activities. As useful, amusing and distracting these devices are, they may also be a culprit in the lack of sleep plaguing many modern youth. There are many reasons for this, ranging from anything from ignorance, minor addictions and even melatonin suppression.
The most obvious reason for teens losing sleep over their devices is ignorance. They simply choose to not pay attention to the time and stay absorbed in whatever they happen to be doing online. This is not only an issue in terms of sleep or lack thereof, but also is a part of the development of further problems and problematic habits.
This leads into my next point. Many adolescents are developing such a dependance on their electronic devices that they are developing addictions to technology. These can be minor or major, depending on the afflicted person. It’s gotten to such a point where you hear of nomophobia, of the fear of losing one’s cell phone. This addiction and constant need to keep connected to the world over the web feeds teens’ seeming incessant abuse of technology, even into the dark of the night, when they should, in theory, be sleeping.
Not only does the constant yearning to be in contact with the world make young people more likely to stay up late communicating with others, but the blue light emitted by most electronic devices suppresses the production of melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for helping us to fall asleep. But according to many studies, the blue-toned light coming out of our cell phones, computers and tablets delays the release of melatonin, likely because it simulates being outside during a clear sunny day, when one would not be sleeping.
So it’s a bit of a double whammy: not getting to go to sleep as early as needed and not being able to fall into proper REM cycles as quickly afterwards.
Looking back, some of my tips for teens with problems with losing sleep over electronics would be:
1. Understand that sleep is more important for your health than whatever banal activity you’re doing on your phone.
2. Put it away at least 30 minutes before you plan to go to sleep. This way, you have time to start pumping out that melatonin before you get into bed.
3. Don’t let it control your life. There’s more to life than technology.
4. Self-moderate. This is tough, but you need to find a way to balance use of technology and other more important things, like sleep.