Beware of browsing social media at this time of day

 Social media negatively affect sleep. In the following lines, we reveal the time when researchers warn against using social media to avoid the negative effects.

Teenagers and children spend a lot of time in front of screens of  various devices every day. Reports indicate that children between the  ages of 11 and 15 spend six to eight hours a day in front of monitors,  as well as the time they spend in front of the computer to perform  homework.

In fact, one analysis suggested that adults in the UK spend more time on screens than sleep.

Children are now using technology at an early age, with research  showing that a third of children in the UK use a tablet before the age  of four.

It  is therefore not surprising that the new generation joins social  networking sites in line with the generation that preceded it. The  Snape Chat application, for example, is popular among teenagers. A 2017  survey found that 70 percent of teens in the United States, aged 13 to  18, use Snape Chat, The site is also used in the UK, and the percentages are not different in the UK.

The number of users of social networking sites now exceeds 3 billion. The average number of hours spent by adults in the United States on social networking sites ranges from two to three hours.

This phenomenon reveals some disturbing results. The proliferation of social media has raised the interest of  researchers and prompted them to study the effects of using social  networking sites on our health, including their impact on sleep, which  is currently receiving unprecedented attention.

So  far, it has become abundantly clear that social networking sites  negatively affect our sleep and, therefore, our mental health.  Since social networking has reached unprecedented levels, Bryan  Braimack, director of the Center for Media, Technology and Health  Research at the University of Pittsburgh, has been studying the  relationship between technology and mental health, with the help of  Jessica Levinson, to look at the advantages and disadvantages of this  together.

It  was initially thought that social networking sites had a negative and  positive impact on depression, that is, it may alleviate depression in  some cases and may increase it further. But an opinion poll of some 2,000 people revealed results that were not taken into account.

Social networking sites have been shown to have a negative effect on depression. In other words, the greater the use of social networking sites, the  greater the likelihood of depression, anxiety and social isolation.

"If  you look at it objectively, when you see someone interacting with their  friends and smiling and putting in emoji that expresses their feelings,  you may say that this person has a lot of friends and acquaintances,  that they are very close and close, but we find that these people have a  feeling Social isolation ".

But  the nature of the relationship between social networking sites and  depression is not yet clear. Does depression lead to increased follow-up  of social networking sites? Or is social media more depressive?

What is the effect of nighttime shifts on our bodies? Braimac believes  that both possibilities may be true, and may mean that a person may  enter a "vicious cycle". The more depression, the greater the demand for  communication sites, and then worsened his psychological state.

However, another concern is that, in a study conducted in September  2017, Braimac and his colleagues found 1,700 adults, that the use of  social media was closely linked to mental health problems.

They found that following up on social networking sites before bedriding for 30 minutes increases the risk of insomnia. "This has nothing to do with the time I've been following up all day," says Braimak.
Source Image Alamy  It seems necessary to avoid the use of technological devices half an hour before sleeping, so that we can enjoy a quiet sleep.

This is due to several factors, including recent warnings that the  blue light emitted from the screens reduces the levels of melatonin, the  hormone that alerts us that it is time to sleep.

It  is also likely that the use of social networking sites will increase  anxiety as the day goes by, so it is difficult to stop thinking about  bedtime. "Then we have thoughts and feelings and insist on when we get ready to sleep," says Braimak.

But another reason is that social networking sites attract users to follow them and reduce time spent sleeping.

Research has shown that the time we spend watching screens may  overwhelm the time of physical activity, which helps people sleep.

"If  you hold a smart phone in your hand, you will not swing your arms at  the usual speed, and your feet will not move," says Eric Siegman, an  independent health-care lecturer. Over six months, we will have a new generation of little movement. "

If the use of social networking sites exacerbates anxiety and depression, it means that it also affects sleep.

When  you stay awake in your bed you compare to other users of social  networking sites who express their happiness and joy in life, or boast  of their wonderful journeys, you will feel that your life is dismal  compared to them, and will control negative thoughts and prevent you  from sleeping.  So, we seem to be in a loop of intertwined problems, as the use of  social networking sites increases depression, anxiety and insomnia.

The lack of sleep may result from mental health problems, but such problems at the same time may lead to lack of sleep.

The researchers also linked the lack of sleep to other disadvantages,  such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, poor  scholastic achievement, slow response to leadership, behaviors that  endanger others, increased alcohol and substance abuse, and other  damage.

Worse still, young people are most affected by sleep deprivation. In  adolescence there are social and biological changes that have a major  impact on growth and development.

The  teenagers do not feel what they call "the need to sleep," says Jessica  Levinson, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "The inner  rhythm of sleep makes you feel sleepy as long as you're awake, except  late at night compared to childhood, Sleep at night.

But Levinson says that the increase and change in the use of social  media, as well as the research and articles she addresses, may outweigh  the ability of researchers to keep pace with them.

"We  are doing our part to detect the effects of using social media, whether  negative or positive, and teachers, parents and paediatricians should  ask adolescents how often they use social media, when, and what they  feel when using it," she said.  It is clear that moderation in the use of social networking sites is the solution to address its damage. Siegman is advised to devote specific times of the day away from screens, and this applies also to children.

He believes that parents should locate places at home to use or completely abstain from using technological devices. "We do not allow social media to seep into every part of our lives without censorship or censorship," he says.

"This oversight is important because children do not have the ability to control their motives and may not know when to stop."

Braimac does not demand people to completely refrain from using social  networking sites, but he advises them to regulate the number of times  they are used, and more importantly, to determine when they use them.

"These  sites are doing everything in their power to attract you to keep them  posted, and it will be difficult to meet them," he said. And hopes that extensive research and management consulting will stand in the row of users to achieve some balance.

If  you are tired and confused in the morning because you were staring at  your phone before going to bed last night, you might be able to handle  it yourself. Have a nice sleep if you put your phone aside at night.