Struggling to sleep? Turn off the phone! Excess texting linked to insomnia in …

University students who texted a lot suffered more sleep deprivation
Causes include pressure to respond and sleeping with phone nearby
Texting a lot also negatively impacts stress and emotional wellbeing
Washington and Lee study is in Psychology of Popular Media Culture

By
Deni Kirkova

PUBLISHED:

14:26 GMT, 27 September 2013

|

UPDATED:

14:32 GMT, 27 September 2013

Texting a lot and sleep deprivation are directly linked in young adults, according to new research.

Researchers suspect the reasons behind the link could include feeling
pressured to respond
immediately to texts, no matter what time of day or night, and sleeping
with the phone nearby, thus being awakened by the alerts from
incoming texts.

The new study by Washington and Lee University psychology professor Karla Murdock found that frequent text messaging was also associated with
greater psychological vulnerability to interpersonal stress.

The study examined links among interpersonal stress, text-messaging behavior, and health

In an article in the latest edition of
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Murdock reported that texting was a
direct predictor of sleep problems among first year University
students. The study examined links among interpersonal stress,
text-messaging behavior, and three indicators of college students'
health: burnout, sleep problems and emotional well-being, reports Science Daily.

To assess students' sleep quality,
Murdock used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index with minor modifications
to fit the college sample. The widely-used instrument measures multiple aspects of sleep quality such as sleep duration, the
amount of time it takes to fall asleep, the amount of time actually
spent sleeping while in bed, nighttime disturbances, and daytime
sleepiness.

'These correlational
findings provide an initial indication that heavy text messaging could
be problematic during times of stress,' writes Murdock.

'Although speculative, it could be
argued that text messaging is a uniquely unsuitable mode of
communication for coping with interpersonal stress in close
relationships.'

She suggests that the abbreviated language that is common in
texting lacks the ability to provide the kind of
nuance that is important in discussing sensitive issues. In addition,
texting fails to offer critical non-verbal cues that would be part of a
face-to-face conversation.

Researchers say texting is an unsuitable mode of communication for coping with stress in close relationships

'Text
messaging may carry a high risk of producing or maintaining
misunderstandings and/or unproductive interactions during periods of
stress,' she writes.

'When interpersonal stress involves conflict, the
conditions required for productive communication may be particularly
difficult to achieve through texting.'

Researchers found the impact of texting
on psychological wellbeing depended on the level of interpersonal stress
partiicpants were already facing. But more texting was associated with
poorer sleep regardless of their previous stress levels.

The students in the study, all in their first year, answered questions that measured academic and social burnout, emotional well-being and sleep problems. Murdock also asked them to estimate how many text messages they send and receive on an average day.

The study's findings on sleep were especially significant given the well-documented compromises in sleep that students experience throughout college, but especially in the first year. Several recent studies have shown that 70 percent of college students receive less than the eight recommended hours of sleep. A 2007 survey by the American College Health Association concluded that 40 percent of students feel rested only two days a week.

The key finding was that a higher number of daily texts was associated with more sleep problems.

Murdock notes that this finding reinforces previous evidence pointing to a direct association between cell-phone use and poor sleep in adolescents and emerging adults.