Yapping on mobile leads to stress, sleep disorder

Washington, Jun 10 (UNI) Teenagers who use mobile phones frequently are more likely to suffer from disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue, acording to a Swedish study.

''There seem to be a connection between intensive use of cell phones and health compromising behaviour such as smoking, snuffing and use of alcohol as well as attention and cognitive problems,'' said Dr Gaby Badre of Sahlgrens Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, who authored the study.

Dr Badre conducted a study on youngsters between 14 and 20 years of age, who did not have sleep problems at the time of study.

The subjects were split into two groups - a control group and an experimntal group. The former made fewer than five calls or sent not more than five text messages a day, whereas, the experimental group made more than fifteen calls and sent more than fifteen messages per day.

The study, presented yesterday at Sleep 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), found that teenagers who used their phones often were more restless. They also had more 'careless' lifestyles, consumed more stimulating drinks, suffered from disrupted sleep or insomnia and were more susceptible to stress and fatigue.

Addiction to phones is becoming common. Youngsters feel pressure to be interconnected and reachable round the clock, Dr Badre said.

''It is necessary to increase awareness of the negative effects of excessive phone use on sleep-wake patterns,'' she added and recommended adolescents to get at least nine hours of sleep at night.

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