Sleeping with your phone next to your pillow is a bad habit, but researchers have found it can lead to even worse behavior.
Millennials are increasingly falling prey to ‘sleep texting,’ a new study from Villanova University has found.
A growing number of college-aged students are texting people as they drift off to sleep, or are still asleep – only to forget having sent the messages the next morning.
WHAT IS ‘SLEEP TEXTING’?
Sleep texting happens when someone sends a text message to someone else while in a sleep state.
A person might be dead asleep and hear their phone buzz, reach over and instinctively respond.
It can also have adverse consequences on a person’s sleep, researchers say.
A Villanova study found 25.6 percent of students say they’ve sleep texted.
Of that number, 72 percent they don’t remember sleep texting someone.
And 25 percent said they don’t remember what they texted someone in their sleep.
Researchers surveyed 372 college students at two mid-sized universities to get a feel for their sleeping habits.
In particular, they tracked the students’ cell phone use during sleep and their quality of sleep.
Students were asked how many hours they sleep on weeknights and weekends, as well as where they keep their phone while they sleep.
A sizable 25.6 percent said they had ‘sleep texted’ before, citing poor sleep quality and their cellphone as factors that influence their sleep.
Of that number, roughly 72 percent of people who have sleep texted said they had no memory of texting someone in their sleep.
And 25 percent said they have no memory of what they texted the person.
The majority of the sleep texting students had no memory of the texting behavior as well as who or what they texted,’ Elizabeth Dowdell, lead author of the study, said in a statement.
‘The lack of memory is not surprising as sleep research has found that people awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fall asleep.’
Scientists noted that college students tend to get less sleep than other age groups, averaging roughly 6.9 hours of sleep each night, due to busy schedules, less adult supervision and other factors.
The rise of smartphone addiction and an ‘always-on’ lifestyle has led to the rise of sleep texting among adolescents and young adults, they say.
Adolescents and young adults send about 60 to 100 text messages a day on average, according to researchers.
Sleep texting has real consequences for quality of sleep, too.
‘Sleep texting occurs when an individual responds to or sends a text message electronically while in a sleep state,’ the researchers explained.
‘The beep or buzz of the cell phone indicating that a call has come in awakens the sleeper, who instinctively reaches over and responds to the message.
‘This action can occur once or multiple times during the sleep cycle, adversely affecting the quality and the duration of the individual’s sleep,’ they added.
Thankfully, users who have reportedly sleep texted someone aren’t sending anything too embarrassing.
HOW SEVERE IS SMARTPHONE ADDICTION?
With the average age for a child to get their first phone now just 10, young people are becoming more and more reliant on their smartphones.
Worrying research from Korea University suggests that this dependence on the technology could even be affecting some teens’ brains.
The findings reveals that teenagers who are addicted to their smartphones are more likely to suffer from mental disorders, including depression and anxiety.
Other studies have shown people are so dependent on their smartphone that they happily break social etiquette to use them.
Researchers from mobile connectivity firm iPass surveyed more than 1,700 people in the US and Europe about their connectivity habits, preferences and expectations.
The survey revealed some of the most inappropriate situations in which people have felt the need to check their phone – during sex (seven per cent), on the toilet (72 per cent) and even during a funeral (11 per cent).
Nearly two thirds of people said they felt anxious when not connected to the Wi-Fi, with many saying they’d give up a range of items and activities in exchange for a connection.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents said that Wi-Fi was impossible to give up – more than for sex (58 per cent), junk food (42 per cent), smoking (41 per cent), alcohol (33 per cent), or drugs (31 per cent).
A quarter of respondents even went so far as to say that they’d choose Wi-Fi over a bath or shower, and 19 per cent said they’d choose Wi-Fi over human contact.
Most of the messages appear to be ‘gibberish or nonsensical responses to questions,’ according to the study.
Some examples of actual sleep texts include: ‘Lips I dripped it,’ ‘I legittt wish veggird were enough to fuelme,’ and ‘It means Girls tonight. It I 10.’
The phenomenon of sleep texting has been widely talked about on platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitpics since 2017, the study found.
What’s more, researchers pointed out that since it’s mostly young adults and teens who are being hit with sleep texting, they don’t have to worry about texting a boss or coworker accidentally.
‘Sleep texting amongst the working population may result in a different experience and a different set of consequences based on what was texted-and to whom when viewed through a professional work lens,’ the study concluded.
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