TAMPA, Fla. — The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep a night.
But according to new research, more than half of teens in the United States spend at least an hour on their phones overnight between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on school nights.
The research doesn't directly link night-time phone use to harmful outcomes; however, past research has shown sleep disruption does have negative impacts.
Experts warn this “Doomscrolling” as it is referred to can impact a teen's learning, memory, and mood.
Tampa Bay 28 anchor Wendy Ryan covers mental health and spoke with Dr. Jennifer Katzenstein, the co-director for the Center of Behavioral Health at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete. They discussed how the lack of sleep for teens could also lead to an increased risk for depression and anxiety.
“Many of us feel like we aren't making as good of decisions, like we're more irritable or easily set off, our brain chemistry is changing too, so we are likely to see increasing anxiety, increases in depression, and then we aren't utilizing those coping strategies as well as we would like to be, and then that may result in unhealthy coping strategies, not only things like suicidal thoughts, but even substance abuse, becoming overly dependent on a substance, even something like caffeine, which then in turn disrupts our sleep more, and we end up in a vicious cycle,” said Dr. Katzenstein.
Dr. Katzenstein’s advice for parents is to get the phone out of your kids’ room at certain times of the day and keep it consistent.
She also recommends making sure alarms are not being used on their phones and try switching to an analog digital alarm clock.
Share Your Story with Wendy
Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Wendy Ryan is dedicated to helping our neighbors navigate the important topic of mental health. For years, she’s been connecting people to resources, listening to their challenges, and sharing their stories to decrease the stigma. You can connect with Wendy by using the form below.
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