February 26, 2005
Japan. Students lack sleep
High school students are experiencing a chronic lack of sleep and worsening health due to long hours on email messages, cell phones and nighttime visits to brightly lit convenience stores, according to a study by a team of researchers in Fukuoka Prefecture, reports Japan Today.
The study revealed that the students spend an average one hour and 13 minutes a day sending or reading email messages or talking to friends on their mobile phones, with 25.4% of them saying they spend two hours or more on such activities.
Based on how quickly they fall asleep or how refreshed they feel after a night of sleep, the study found that the quality of sleep tends to deteriorate among students who spend two or more hours on their cellphones.
The researchers said they believe that the students have trouble falling asleep because talking on the cell phone and sending or reading email messages make them tense.
"High school students today are not having healthy sleep both in terms of quality and quantity," Uchimura said. "Society, proliferated with emails and a 24-hour lifestyle, has turned them into nighthawks."
Related articles:
-- Mobile phones and video games 'are depriving children of sleep' (Belgian study)
-- SMS causes poor sleep (Belgian study)
-- Children text at night instead of sleeping (Australian study)
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