The constantly evolving digital landscape with social media at the helm — WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and more — is not only altering the way we consume information, it’s also affecting our sleep patterns. The urge to continuously check messages and updates, or even scroll through websites on smart phones and tablets under the bed covers is resulting in sleep deprivation.
A survey of 250 people conducted by the Service of Healthy Use of Technology (SHUT) clinic at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) revealed that all check their phones or tablets four times on an average even after going to bed. Respondents pointed out that the need to use the internet delayed their sleep by about 96 minutes.
“People are addicted to technology and get excited when chatting or using social media, which forces them to delay their sleep,” said Manoj Kumar Sharma, Additional Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Nimhans, who conducted the study. It was published in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine earlier this month.
A 30-year-old IT professional, who used to sleep for eight hours a day, said when he started using social networking sites and updating his social media profiles, “within a few days, I realised that I was obsessed with technology and I used it as a method to escape to the virtual world.”
It’s not just social media that keeps people hooked on to the net. Dr. Kumar narrated the example of a software engineer in his late 20s who cut short his eight-hour sleep by almost half as he was addicted to pornography.
Shivaraj A.L., sleep medicine specialist and pulmonologist (not part of the Nimhans study) said that technology use has affected sleep hygiene, which in turn has impacted both the quality as well as quantity of sleep. “We are increasingly seeing younger adults also come to us reporting reduction of sleep and productivity,” he added.
Dr. Sharma said that some of the ways to reduce internet addiction, included increasing offline interaction with people and starting hobbies. “If your technology addiction exceeds more than 30 minutes, take a break by blinking the eye and moving your hands and neck. People also need to keep it in mind not to delay sleep for online activities,” he said.
