Social Media Is Keeping Young Adults Awake

Social Media Is Keeping Young Adults Awake

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

A new study has found that social media could be affecting the sleep of young adults.

The study is a project of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine.

They found that young people who often use social media are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders² than those who use social media less.

The researchers say doctors should ask young adults about their use of social media when treating sleep issues.

“This is one of the first pieces of evidence that social media use really can impact your sleep,” said Jessica C. Levenson. She is a postdoctoral researcher in the university’s Department of Psychiatry³. She was the lead author of a report on the study.

The researchers set out to examine the connection between social media use and sleep among young adults. Levenson noted⁴ that these young adults are possibly the first “generation to grow up with social media.”

The researchers wanted to find out how often young people used social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Histogram, Snapshot, Credit and Tumbler. For the study, they gave questionnaires to nearly 1,800 adults, aged⁵ 19 to 32.

On average, members of the study group used social media sites one hour a day. They also "visited various social media accounts 30 times per week."

Thirty percent of the study’s participants reported having serious problems with sleeping. Those people who used social media a lot were three times more likely to have a sleep disorder¹. And those who spent the most time on social media were two times as likely to suffer from sleep disturbances⁷.

Frequent checking is big part of the problem

Levenson said the number of times a person visits social media is a better predictor of sleep problems than overall time spent on social media. If this is true, she adds, then practices that stop such behaviors may be most effective.

Researchers say social media can influence sleep patterns in a number of ways.

People can lose sleep by staying up too late looking at social media.

Sensitive issues argued about on social media can cause "emotional, cognitive⁸ or physiological” excitement.

Using an electronic device can interfere⁹ with a body’s natural sleep rhythms because of the light coming from cell phones or computer screens.

The researchers note that in some cases, young adults who have a hard time sleeping may use social media to help them fall asleep.

"It also may be that both of these hypotheses are true," says Brian A. Primack. He is director of the Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health. He is also the study's senior author.

Primack says “difficulty sleeping may lead to increased use of social media, which may in turn lead to more problems sleeping. This cycle may be particularly problematic with social media. Many forms of social media involve interactive¹⁰ screen time that is stimulating¹¹ and rewarding and, for those reasons, can keep you awake."

Researchers published their findings in the journal Preventative Medicine.

Words in This Story

author – n. a person who has written something, especially someone who has written a book or who writes many books

disturbance⁶ – n. something that stops you from working or sleeping

questionnaire – n.  written questions that are given to people in order to collect facts or opinions about something

predictor – n. predicting on the basis of observation, experience, or scientific reason

hypotheses – n. an idea or theory that is not proven but that leads to further study or discussion

cycle – n. a set of events or actions that happen again and again in the same order

interactive – adj. involving the actions or input¹² of a user

stimulating – adj. to make (a person) excited or interested in something

rewarding – adj. giving you a good feeling that you have done something valuable or important

participant – n. a person who is involved in an activity or event; a person who takes part in an activity or event

pattern – n. the repetition of something

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

7 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

8 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

9 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

10 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

11 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

12 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。