New research finds that a growing number of college students are texting while asleep, adversely affecting their slumber.
A team out of Villanova University conducted the research, which was based on a survey of 372 students from two different universities. Respondents were asked questions about cell phone usage during the night and their perceived quality of Zzz’s. The numbers told it all: More than a quarter of students reported texting in their sleep. A majority of these midnight messengers —72 percent — said they didn’t remember doing so, either (can we get an undo-send option?!).
The researchers wanted to know more than just who was sleep texting. “College students have a well-earned reputation for not sleeping well,” lead author Dr. Elizabeth Dowdell told Sleepopolis. “I wanted to know from a health perspective how cell phones affect sleep.”
Those who got hold of their devices in the night reported lower sleep quality and a higher number of sleep disturbances, suggesting that sleep texting influences poor snooze habits.
“I literally had a student just 45 minutes ago tell me she puts her phone under her pillow,” Dowdell told me during our conversation, adding further anecdotal evidence to the data set.
SOS: We’re SMS’ing While We Snooze
Our glue-like connection to our devices is continuing to get, well, stickier. While texting has become a helpful means of personal communication, we’ve taken it to a new level. Young adults are exchanging as many as 100 messages a day and are spending over four hours in front of their screens. Perhaps unsurprisingly, research also shows that phones are interfering with their slumber.
“For students especially, we see that sleep deprivation impacts memory, function, reaction time, test performance, and class performance,” Dowdell lists. “We need to teach [students] how to responsibly handle this powerful device.”
College students, on average, clock in less than seven hours of sleep per night, and many report falling asleep in class at least once every three months. Consequently, lack of adequate sleep has been consistently rated as a top reason for why GPAs drop.
The Problem? Phone FOMO
One straightforward way to improve sleep habits and academic performance is to encourage students to ditch their devices. However, this might be easier said than done, as Dowdell postures that college kids don’t want to lose sight of their phones for fear of missing out on social activities.
“Having your phone in bed is about being connected,” Dowdell explained. “What if they miss something? What if someone is going out? It’s that being-connected feeling. Why don’t we have landlines anymore? We can’t take them with us.”
While it might be nearly impossible to pry phones from the hands of these youngsters, we can at least take some measures to improve the situation. While keeping the phone off and away is best, putting it on “do not disturb” is also useful.
“I always say this to my students, and I mean it sincerely,” Dowdell began. “You control the technology, the technology doesn’t control you. If you can’t turn it off or it has to be next to the bed, put it on airplane mode.”
Utafiti mpya unaonyesha kuwa idadi kubwa ya wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu wanaandika ujumbe wa simu wakiwa wamelala, na hivyo kuathiri usingizi wao. Utafiti huo ulifanywa na timu ya wataalamu kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Villanova, na ulijumuisha wanafunzi 372 kutoka vyuo vikuu viwili tofauti. Wajibuji waliulizwa maswali kuhusu matumizi ya simu ya mkononi wakati wa usiku na ubora wao wa Zzz <unk>s. Idadi hiyo ilionyesha waziwazi kwamba zaidi ya robo ya wanafunzi walituma ujumbe wa simu wakiwa wamelala. Wengi wa wajumbe hawa wa usiku wa manane <unk> asilimia 72 <unk> walisema hawakuweza kukumbuka kufanya hivyo, ama (tunaweza kupata chaguo la kufuta kutuma?!). Watafiti walitaka kujua mengi zaidi ya tu ni nani aliyekuwa akituma ujumbe wa text akiwa amelala. "Wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu wana sifa ya kutolala vizuri", mwandishi mkuu Dakt. Elizabeth Dowdell aliiambia Sleepopolis. "Wale waliopata simu zao usiku waliripoti ubora wa usingizi wa chini na idadi kubwa ya matatizo ya usingizi, ikidokeza kwamba kutuma ujumbe wa simu wakati wa usingizi huathiri tabia mbaya za kulala usingizi.""" "Nilikuwa na mwanafunzi dakika 45 tu zilizopita akiniambia anaweka simu yake chini ya mto wake, ""Dowdell aliniambia wakati wa mazungumzo yetu, akiongeza ushahidi zaidi wa anecdotal kwa seti ya data." "SMS: ""Tunatumaza ujumbe wa SMS wakati tunapozungumza"" - ""Uunganisho wetu wa kuunganisha na vifaa vyetu unaendelea kuwa, vizuri, unashikamana zaidi.""" Ingawa kutuma ujumbe wa maandishi kumekuwa njia yenye kusaidia ya kuwasiliana kibinafsi, tumeipeleka kwenye kiwango kipya. Vijana wanawasiliana na marafiki zao kwa kutumia zaidi ya saa 4 kila siku mbele ya skrini zao. Labda haishangazi kwamba utafiti pia unaonyesha kwamba simu za mkononi zinaingilia usingizi wao. <unk>Kwa wanafunzi hasa, tunaona kwamba ukosefu wa usingizi huathiri kumbukumbu, kazi, wakati wa kukabiliana, utendaji wa mtihani, na utendaji wa darasa,<unk> Dowdell orodha. "Tunahitaji kuwafundisha wanafunzi jinsi ya kutumia kifaa hiki kwa uwajibikaji. "" Wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu, kwa wastani, wanalala chini ya saa saba kwa usiku, na wengi wanaripoti kulala darasani angalau mara moja kila baada ya miezi mitatu." Kwa hiyo, ukosefu wa usingizi wa kutosha umekuwa ukikadiriwa kuwa sababu kuu ya kupungua kwa GPA. Tatizo Ni Nini? Njia moja rahisi ya kuboresha tabia za usingizi na utendaji wa kitaaluma ni kuhamasisha wanafunzi kuondoa vifaa vyao. Hata hivyo, hii inaweza kuwa rahisi kusema kuliko kufanyika, kama Dowdell poses kwamba wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu hawataki kupoteza macho ya simu zao kwa hofu ya kukosa nje ya shughuli za kijamii. "Kuwa na simu yako kitandani ni kuhusu kuwa na uhusiano", Dowdell alielezea. <unk>Ikiwa watakosa kitu fulani? Namna gani ikiwa mtu fulani anatoka nje? Ni kwamba kuwa-kuunganishwa hisia. Kwa nini hatuna simu za nyumbani tena? Hatuwezi kuwachukua pamoja nasi. Ingawa inaweza kuwa karibu haiwezekani kuondoa simu kutoka kwa mikono ya vijana hawa, angalau tunaweza kuchukua hatua fulani kuboresha hali hiyo. Ingawa ni afadhali kuweka simu mbali na mbali, kuifunga kwenye "usivurugike" pia ni muhimu. "Sikuzote mimi huwaambia wanafunzi wangu jambo hili, na ninasema hivyo kwa unyoofu", Dowdell akaanza. <unk>Unaidhibiti teknolojia, teknolojia haikuidhibiti wewe. Kama huwezi kuzima au ni lazima kuwa karibu na kitanda, kuweka juu ya hali ya ndege.