A new report from the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting discovered a clear connection between the amount of sleep, the use of social media, and the activity in certain areas of the brain that are important for controlling behavior and responding to rewards. The results indicate that teenagers who sleep less tend to use social media more. This suggests that the frontolim section of the brain may be involved.bic brain regions, such as the inferior and middle frontal gyri, may play a significant role in these relationships. The inferior frontal gyrus, which is important for controlling impulses, could be crucial in how teenagers control their use of rewarding stimuli like social media. The middle frontal gyrus, which is involved in decision-making and assessing rewards, is essential for making choices about balancing immediate rewards from social media with other important priorities, such as sleep. These findings indicate a complex interaction between specific brain regions during adolescence and their impact on behavior and sleep.The content of digital media usage. ”As these young brains undergo significant changes, our findings suggest that poor sleep and high social media engagement could potentially alter neural reward sensitivity,” said Orsolya Kiss, a research scientist at SRI International in Menlo Park, California. “This intricate interplay shows that both digital engagement and sleep quality significantly influence brain activity, with clear implications for adolescent brain development.” This study involved data from 6,516 adolescents, ages 10-14 years, from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.The duration of sleep and recreational use of social media among adolescents were evaluated using the Munich Chronotype questionnaire and Youth Screen Time Survey, respectively. Brain activity was examined using functional MRI scans during a monetary incentive delay task to focus on reward processing-associated regions. The study employed three different sets of models, altering predictors and outcomes each time. Findings were controlled for age, timing of the COVID-19 pandemic, and socio-demographic factors.
Kiss emphasized that the results offer fresh perspectives on the influence of two important facets of contemporary adolescent life – social media usage and sleep duration – on brain activity and behavior.Interact and have an effect on brain development.
“Identifying the specific parts of the brain involved in these interactions helps us recognize potential risks and benefits linked to digital engagement and sleep patterns,” Kiss stated. “This understanding is particularly important as it may help in the development of more accurate, evidence-based interventions aimed at promoting healthier habits.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests that teenagers aged 13 to 18 should get 8 to 10 hours of sleep on a regular basis. The AASM also advises adolescents to disconnect from all electronic devices at least 30 minutes to an hour before going to bed.This study received funding from the National Institutes of Health. The research abstract was recently published in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented at SLEEP 2024 in Houston on Sunday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 5. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, which is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
