Teen smartphone depression risk exposed

Teenagers are left grumpy and cranky in the mornings after a night of social media binge on their smart devices.

Such nocturnal activities can have a negative impact on the minds and psychology of the young minds and leave them vulnerable to crippling depression, reports UK daily Mirror.

A university in Switzerland conducted a study that included more than 300 adolescents and who were asked about their nocturnal habits in a bid to uncderstand how the smartphones were impacting their lives.

The study concluded that 17% of smartphone teens switched off their smartphones or put it on silent mode when they went finished for the night, compared with 47% of young kids who owned old-fashioned phones

Thanks to Whatsapp and Snapchat, today's young generation is always connected and the phones keep beeping late into the night.

"Adolescence is a time of increasing vulnerability for poor mental health, including depression," the researchers wrote.

"Sleep disturbance is an important risk factor for the development of depression during adolescence. Excessive electronic media use at night is a risk factor for both adolescents’ sleep disturbance and depression."

Lack of sleep leads to health issues like heart disease, depression and asthma.

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