Are Your Teens Sleep-Texting?

Here's a decidedly 21st-century sleep issue: "Sleep-texting" is a growing phenomenon among teens. That's right. Teens are reaching for their phones during the night, firing off messages, and waking up with no recollection of their actions.

Social media and technology are part of daily life for everyone, but especially for young people. One study suggests that U.S. teens send an average of 100 texts per day. Experts say extending the texting habit into their sleep time could lead to serious health issues.

Teen Sleep Needs

Teens have their own particular set of shut-eye needs and challenges. Most teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, most don't get it. Biological changes associated with puberty make it harder for teens to fall asleep and stay asleep. And with increased academic and social pressure, late nights, and sleep-in Saturday mornings -- it’s harder for them to maintain regular sleep schedules.

Unhealthy sleep habits can lead to serious sleep deprivation, posing a threat to teens' academic success and also to their physical and mental health. Sleep problems among this age group are linked to obesity, high blood pressure, depression, behavioral problems, and drug abuse. Some evidence suggests that sleep problems during adolescence can affect health well into adulthood.

Research already shows that social media can interfere with teens' sleep habits. Teens spend 53 hours per week engaged with some form of electronic media, according to a large-scale study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's more than seven hours per day.

The study also found that teens' daily consumption of social media is on the rise, with their use of mobile media increasing at the fastest rate. Another study indicates that teens who text and use the Internet are more likely to have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. More than half of kids and teenagers who text or surf the Internet at bedtime have mood, behavior, memory, and thinking problems during the day.