Chronic sleep disorders through social media

Use of social media platforms causes sleep problems
At the present time technology has a big impact on our lives. Almost every person is active on some social media platforms. But it is possible that Facebook and Twitter rob us of the night's sleep?

Sleep problems are widespread and can have different causes. Is it possible that social media platforms influence us greatly and disturb our sleep? Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have now conducted a study on this topic.

The intensive use of social media platforms is linked to sleep disorders. (Image: leungchopan / fotolia.com)

On average, people use social media platforms every day for 61 minutes
Many people today suffer from sleep problems. These can be triggered for example by stress at work, anger with the partner or all sorts of other reasons. Researchers found in a recent study that even social media platforms could be responsible for our sleep problems. For example, about 30 percent of people with sleep disorders are said to be the most active social media users at night. Dr. Jessica Levinson and her colleagues interviewed more than 1,700 adults aged 19 to 32 about their social media use. Participants were asked about their activities on the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat and Google Plus. Researchers found that the average user spends about 61 minutes a day on social media platforms. Each week, sufferers check their various social media accounts about 30 times, the scientists claimed.

Compulsive social media use increases sleep problems by three times the value
The investigation could be the first proof that our social media use can really affect human sleep, Dr. Levenson in a press release on the latest study results. The study examines the relationship between social media use and sleep in young adults. These teenagers are probably the first generation to grow up with social media platforms. When people compulsively use social media, the researchers said they were more likely to develop sleep disorders. The value is three times as high as for people who do not use such programs so often, explain the doctors. Those who used social media during the day generally had a twice as high risk of sleeping disorders as people without access to social media platforms, the experts added.

Vicious circle: Sleep disorders also lead to more use of social media platforms
The results also suggest that the frequency of social media visits has a greater impact on our sleep than the total time spent on social media platforms, Dr. Dennis explains. Levenson. If this is the case, then interventions that prevent or at least restrict the obsessive checking of social media accounts make sense. In the past, especially stress at work, in study or in private projects has been associated with insomnia. But today, the use of social media platforms can contribute to stress, warn the experts. Also, sleep disorders could lead to increased use of social media platforms, which in turn trigger more sleep problems. The cycle could be particularly dangerous because many social media platforms require interactive time on the screen, which is usually stimulating and therefore may cause us to sleep badly. Leverson. However, more research needs to be done to find out whether consistent social media use causes sleep disturbances or whether sleep problems encourage people to log in to their social media accounts more, researchers say.