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This obsession can cause many to stay awake waiting for new information or wake up in the middle of the night to check their phones for an update.
Lack of sleep, such as that caused by technology, can have devastating effects on physical and mental health. The body uses sleep to metabolize food. Therefore, a lack of rest can cause a person to gain weight. People who spend more time using technology are also less likely to be physically active, which can also lead to weight gain.
Research suggests a direct correlation between technology and obesity in children; “Adolescents who consume more than five hours of daily media are five times more likely to be overweight than their peers who consume 0–2 hr” (Wolf, Wolf, Weiss, Nino, para. 11).
Today, children often prefer staying inside and playing video games to playing outdoors. This causes them to expose their minds to more technology, which increases the negative effect it has on sleep. Their lack of proper rest and physical activity eventually leads to loss of energy and obesity.
The negative effects on mental health are more often seen in teenagers and young adults. High school and college students are pressured to keep up with school work, maintain good grades, and have a social life. Loss of sleep caused by technology only intensifies these already-present feelings of stress and anxiety.
The combined effects of lack of sleep, technology, and anxiety can lead to the development of insomnia in students. Insomnia is a consistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Insomnia is defined by OpenStax (2014) as “a consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep” (pg. 126). One study in Lebanon found that 56% of university students did not get the recommended eight hours of sleep (Chahine et al., 2018). A study by Bailly et. al (2004) (as cited by Chahine et al., 2018) noted that 35.7% of French students aged 13-19 reported insomnia-like sleep disorders. Teenagers and university students often use technology while doing school work.
The lack of sleep reported by young adults across the globe shows that their technology is causing them to sleep less and develop insomnia. The insufficient sleep that many students get only increases any already-present feelings of anxiety and depression. These mental health problems cause a student to be tired, unfocused, and unable to work properly. Students often stay up late writing and working on laptops, which combines with their anxiety to make them lose even more sleep. Eventually, this becomes a vicious cycle of stress and sleep deprivation that only gets worse as it continues.
Despite its many uses in the modern world, technology has become a problem for many people, especially teens and young adults. The greatest danger that technology poses to young people is the damaging effect it has on mental health. Insomnia, anxiety, and depression can be developed or worsened due to the lack of sleep caused by technology. In extreme cases, these mental health problems could cause a teen to hurt themselves or others. Technology is constantly progressing, innovating, and becoming a larger part of everyday life. The psychological effect that technology has on teens is becoming more dangerous as the use of technology grows. Understanding these effects could help prevent damage to the mental health of future generations.
Effect of Technology on Sleep. (2021, Dec 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/effect-of-technology-on-sleep-essay
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