Disturbed sleep and more: the serious harm caused by excessive smartphone use among minors

For adolescents and children, sleeping little and poorly, as happens too often nowadays, exposes them to daytime sleepiness, apathy, hormonal and metabolic dysfunctions and poor school performance: during adolescence, therefore, sleeping an adequate number of hours - the ideal is 8 hours - and having good quality sleep is fundamental to guaranteeing good bio-psycho-social functioning.

Rosaria Sommariva , a doctor and professor at the Master's Degree in Sleep Medicine at the University of Bologna, created and chairs the association "Riaccendi il Sorriso" (Rekindle Your Smile), which, starting from this situation, carries out educational, pedagogical, social promotion, medical-scientific information and socially useful activities on these issues.

The main problem currently is excessive smartphone and cell phone use among minors, often even at night: "During the night," Sommariva explains, "the body restores itself, conserving energy and recharging itself by reprocessing the information acquired during the day, storing useful information and discarding unnecessary information. The damage in young people who sleep poorly and overuse technology can be seen every day: these children interrupt conversations, are constantly on the move, are hyperactive, can't maintain attention, and have poor academic and sports performance. These are the effects of light emitted by electronic devices."

Some data provided by the Association is very significant: electronic devices are present in 75% of children and teenagers' bedrooms, 60% of adolescents report using electronic devices in the hour before going to sleep, 70-80% of adolescents use social networks daily, while 45% of adolescents report using their cell phones as alarm clocks.

"The endogenous circadian system," the doctor explains, "a set of physiological processes that follows a roughly 24-hour cycle is regulated by light and darkness, and this system regulates numerous aspects of the human body, including sleep, wakefulness, and body temperature. It is, in fact, essential for maintaining the body's balance and well-being and influences the quality of sleep and mood. The circadian system is sensitive to low-wavelength light (blue light, 460 nm). This light is emitted in large quantities by electronic devices and destroys melatonin, which, in addition to being a natural relaxant, also regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Furthermore, children are more sensitive to this effect due to their larger pupil diameter and the greater amount of light transmitted to the retina by the lens."