Nirosha Elsem Varghese 1 , Eugenio Santoro 2 , Alessandra Lugo 3 , Juan J Madrid-Valero 4 , Simone Ghislandi 1 , Aleksandra Torbica 1 , Silvano Gallus 3 Show Affiliations »
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The use of technology and social media among adolescents is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the relationship between frequency of use of electronic devices and social media and sleep-onset difficulties among the Italian population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the use of technology and social media, including Facebook and YouTube, and sleep-onset difficulties among adolescents from Lombardy, the most populous region in Italy. METHODS: The relationship between use of technology and social media and sleep-onset difficulties was investigated. Data came from the 2013-2014 wave of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey, a school-based cross-sectional study conducted on 3172 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years in Northern Italy. Information was collected on difficulties in falling asleep over the last 6 months. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) for sleep-onset difficulties and corresponding 95% CIs using logistic regression models after adjustment for major potential confounders. RESULTS: The percentage of adolescents with sleep-onset difficulties was 34.3% (1081/3151) overall, 29.7% (483/1625) in boys and 39.2% (598/1526) in girls. It was 30.3% (356/1176) in 11-year-olds, 36.2% (389/1074) in 13-year-olds, and 37.3% (336/901) in 15-year-olds. Sleep-onset difficulties were more frequent among adolescents with higher use of electronic devices, for general use (OR 1.50 for highest vs lowest tertile of use; 95% CI 1.21-1.85), use for playing games (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.11-1.64), use of online social networks (OR 1.40 for always vs never or rarely; 95% CI 1.09-1.81), and YouTube (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.50-2.66). CONCLUSIONS: This study adds novel information about the relationship between sleep-onset difficulties and technology and social media in a representative sample of school-aged children from a geographical location that has not been included in studies of this type previously. Exposure to screen-based devices and online social media is significantly associated with adolescent sleep-onset difficulties. Interventions to create a well-coordinated parent- and school-centered strategy, thereby increasing awareness on the unfavorable effect of evolving technologies on sleep among adolescents, are needed. ©Nirosha Elsem Varghese, Eugenio Santoro, Alessandra Lugo, Juan J Madrid-Valero, Simone Ghislandi, Aleksandra Torbica, Silvano Gallus. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 21.01.2021.
BACKGROUND: The use of technology and social media among adolescents is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the relationship between frequency of use of electronic devices and social media and sleep-onset difficulties among the Italian population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the use of technology and social media, including Facebook and YouTube , and sleep-onset difficulties among adolescents from Lombardy, the most populous region in Italy. METHODS: The relationship between use of technology and social media and sleep-onset difficulties was investigated. Data came from the 2013-2014 wave of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey, a school-based cross-sectional study conducted on 3172 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years in Northern Italy. Information was collected on difficulties in falling asleep over the last 6 months. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) for sleep-onset difficulties and corresponding 95% CIs using logistic regression models after adjustment for major potential confounders. RESULTS: The percentage of adolescents with sleep-onset difficulties was 34.3% (1081/3151) overall, 29.7% (483/1625) in boys and 39.2% (598/1526) in girls . It was 30.3% (356/1176) in 11-year-olds, 36.2% (389/1074) in 13-year-olds, and 37.3% (336/901) in 15-year-olds. Sleep-onset difficulties were more frequent among adolescents with higher use of electronic devices, for general use (OR 1.50 for highest vs lowest tertile of use; 95% CI 1.21-1.85), use for playing games (OR 1.35 ; 95% CI 1.11-1.64), use of online social networks (OR 1.40 for always vs never or rarely; 95% CI 1.09-1.81), and YouTube (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.50-2.66). CONCLUSIONS: This study adds novel information about the relationship between sleep-onset difficulties and technology and social media in a representative sample of school-aged children from a geographical location that has not been included in studies of this type previously. Exposure to screen-based devices and online social media is significantly associated with adolescent sleep-onset difficulties. Interventions to create a well-coordinated parent- and school-centered strategy, thereby increasing awareness on the unfavorable effect of evolving technologies on sleep among adolescents, are needed. ©Nirosha Elsem Varghese, Eugenio Santoro, Alessandra Lugo, Juan J Madrid-Valero, Simone Ghislandi, Aleksandra Torbica, Silvano Gallus. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 21.01.2021.
Entities: Chemical
Disease
Gene
Species
Keywords:
adolescents; electronic device use; sleep-onset difficulties; social media
Mesh： See more »
Year: 2021
PMID： 33475517 PMCID： PMC7862002 DOI： 10.2196/20319
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Med Internet Res ISSN： 1438-8871 Impact factor: 5.428