Texting in the middle of the night is not a new phenomenon. Over 2 years ago, reports on teens texting at night began to surface. One study concluded the average teen sends 34 texts after lights out, reports teenkidsnews.com
When teens were asked why they were texting at such odd hours. Most teens shared nearly the same reply,
If I don’t keep up with what people are talking about, I’m afraid they will start talking about me. I don’t want to be left out. I’m not asleep, anyway.
While it is true that most of you feel the need to connect with your peers. The underlying problem for these night-texting, however, is a feeling of obligation to respond to every tag, update, mention, and text. This need to connect becomes all-consuming, overriding what all sense of what is good and proper.
If left unchecked, the need to be constantly available will come at a high cost to your emotional and physical health. Texting throughout the night leads to sleep deprivation and its associated health concerns. Here are just a few:
- Physical – Chronic poor sleep effects the ability of the immune system, leading to the increased risk of infections. Poor sleep is also associated with weight gain.
- Mental – Depression and anxiety are known to be the result of chronic poor sleep. In fact, one study reported over 75% of teens feeling sad or depressed also were not getting enough sleep at night. Fatigued people are also noted to be quick to anger, causing disruption and embarrassing social choices.
- Academic – If you sacrifice sleep in order to complete academic assignments, the negative effects of decreased sleep will remain on the following day. Chronic sleep deprivation can also be confused with the symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) leading to inappropriate diagnosis and unnecessary medication.
- Safety – Fatigue impairs alertness. When the most common cause of death in teens is motor vehicle fatalities, alertness at the wheel needs to be prioritized.
With these facts in mind, the following tips would help you to get a better sleep:
- Unwind before bedtime. Have a transition period – about 15 to 30 minutes – of technology-free time before you go into your bedroom for sleep.
- Nap to make up for lost sleep. If you need to make up for a few lost hours, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping late. This strategy allows you to pay off your sleep debt without disturbing your natural sleep-wake rhythm, which often backfires in insomnia, which throws you off for days.
- Turn off your smartphone or block incoming sound alerts from emails or texts.
- Do not sleep with your smartphone next to your bed.
- When using the alarm clock feature of your cellular phone, place you phone at a distance from your bed.
- Since lack of sleep tends to trigger sleep texting behaviour, avoid sleep deprivation by ensuring you receive an adequate amount of sleep, keep a regular sleep schedule on weekdays and weekends, and follow good sleep hygiene.
- Avoid texting immediately before going to bed.
I remember a wise person once saying :
The key to a happy life is finding balance in all things great or small
Do you see the wisdom in these words?
