How Social Media Screws Up Your Sleep. - Central Jersey Dental Sleep Medicine

You’re not the only one who can’t put your damn phone down

BY ALI EAVES | Friday, February 5, 2016, 10:26 am

The more you scroll, the less you snooze. Social media use is linked to poor sleep, a new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine finds.

Researchers surveyed people about their social media habits and sleep quality. They found that the more often you check your feeds and the more time you spend on them, the more likely you are to have trouble falling and staying asleep.

How Social Media Affects Your Sleep

It could be because some people are so hooked on social media that they’re staying up later to cruise Instagram or Facebook, says study coauthor Brian Primack, M.D., Ph.D.

Social platforms are designed to be addictive, says Dr. Primack. Each entertaining update and every “thumbs up” or “heart” sends a jolt of endorphins to your brain, giving you a mini high.

Plus, you can update your feeds constantly and scroll through them endlessly. It makes it hard to put your phone down and go to bed. And if you don’t fall asleep right away, it’s easy to reach for your phone every five minutes to see how many “likes” the latest photo of your dog has raked up.

Then of course, there’s the blue light issue. Electronic devices like cell phones emit blue light that halts your production of the hormone melatonin, which makes you feel sleepy.

So how much counts as too much?

The study gets precise. People who spent more than two hours per day on social media were about twice as likely to have more disturbed sleep as people who spent a half hour or less on social media.

And if you check your social feeds about 60 times or more per week, you’re three times as likely to have increased disturbed sleep as people who only check their feeds 8 or fewer times per week.

While you probably don’t quantify your online social browsing time, there’s a good chance you know what end of the spectrum you fall on. And if find yourself in the “too much” range, it might be time to adjust your habits.

Start keeping track of how much time you spend on social media, and try to restrain yourself to 30 minutes a day. And don’t pull out your phone in bed—that should be a place for sleeping and screwing, nothing else. Keep your phone across the room so you’re not tempted to reach for it after you climb between the sheets.