Too much screen time is no. 1 reason for teenage sleep problems, says new survey

According to a new poll, nearly half of United States parents say their teens experience regular sleep problems, with many believing that too much screen time is to blame.

The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan questioned 1,018 parents with at least one child aged 13 to 18 years old on their child’s sleep habits, asking what they think may be causing sleep disturbances.

Nearly half of the parents (43 percent) reported that their teens have problems falling asleep at night or wake up in the night and struggle to get back to sleep.

Of these parents, around 25 percent said their teens experienced these sleep problems one to two nights per week, and 18 percent reported that their teens struggle with sleep three or more nights per week.


As to what is causing sleep disturbances, using electronic devices like social media was the number one reason given by parents, reported by 56 percent of those surveyed.

Homework and other activities causing irregular sleep schedules was the reason given by 43 percent of parents, while 31 percent say teens worrying about school is affecting their child’s shut-eye, and 23 percent say it is due to worrying about their social life.

Many parents added that they have tried a number of different strategies at home to improve sleep, including reducing caffeine intake in the evening, turning off electronics and cell phones at bedtime, and natural or herbal remedies, which were also the top recommendations given when parents consulted a doctor about their child’s sleep problems.

More than a quarter of parents (28 percent) also reported that their teens used some type of medication to remedy the problem.

“Parents whose teens continue to have frequent sleep problems, despite following recommendations for healthy sleep hygiene, may want to talk with a health care provider, particularly when considering which type of medication to try,” says poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H. “Inadequate or disrupted sleep can have long-lasting health effects that go beyond moodiness and irritability for teens.”

“Sleep-deprived teens may have difficulty concentrating in school and those who drive have an increased risk of auto accidents. Inadequate sleep has also been linked to health problems ranging from obesity to depression,” added Clark. JB

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Study finds most teens vaping fruity flavors, not nicotine

NEW YORK — Health officials warn that electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices are poisoning kids with nicotine. But new research suggests that most teens aren’t vaping nicotine at all but using sweet and fruity flavors like strawberry, chocolate cake and bubble gum.

Only a fraction of young vapers were inhaling nicotine, a nationwide survey showed. The majority — two-thirds — said they vaped “just flavoring.”

Nicotine is considered harmful to the developing teenage brain. But the finding raises big questions about how US health officials are portraying the threat of e-cigarettes to youths, said Richard Miech, the study’s lead author at the University of Michigan.

Federal estimates of how many youths are using any nicotine-containing tobacco products — including traditional cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes — may be inflated because of mistaken assumptions about how much vaping involves nicotine, he said. That figure is around 25 percent.

Health officials and an advocacy group questioned the study’s findings.

E-cigarettes began to appear in the United States roughly 10 years ago. At first, they were battery-powered devices resembling cigarettes that heated liquid nicotine into a vapor. They were promoted to smokers as a less dangerous alternative since they don’t contain all the chemicals and tars of burning tobacco.

But the market has evolved, and a lot of vaping these days is done with devices that can be loaded with flavored “e-juice” that comes in both nicotine and nicotine-free versions.

“Strawberry. Watermelon. Passion fruit. There’s a churros — you know, like cinnamon toast?” said Hosam Essa, manager of Brooklyn Vape in New York, rattling off some of the most popular flavors on his shop’s shelves.

Kids love the flavors and blowing vapor into rings and other shapes, said Jennifer Alexander, an RTI International researcher who has interviewed about 50 teen vapers.

Michigan’s national survey last year included 3,800 students who had vaped at some point. It was the first time the respected annual survey asked what was in the vapor — specifically, they were asked what they inhaled the last time they vaped. Results were published online Thursday by the journal Tobacco Control.

Miech said he was curious how many kids vaped marijuana. But it was the nicotine findings that surprised him.

Only about 13 to 20 percent said they last vaped nicotine, with the highest percentages in older teens; about 7 percent used marijuana and roughly 10 percent didn’t know.

The boom in youth vaping has coincided with steady declines in teen cigarette smoking. Vaping is now more common than smoking.

The federal government, as well as most states, restricts sales of electronic cigarettes or vaping products to minors. But kids still get them, sometimes through online purchases or other people. Essa said parents bring their kids into his shop because they’d rather the kids vape than smoke.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lamented the growing popularity of vaping products, often focusing on nicotine dangers for teens.

Asked about the new study, CDC officials sent a statement questioning whether many teens know the exact content of what they’re vaping. They cited a small study suggesting mislabeling of e-juice containers was not uncommon. Further research is needed, the statement said.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids issued a statement making similar points. The organization’s president, Matthew L. Myers, was also critical of how the flavor question was posed.

Miech said he agrees that youth vaping is a problem. But he said the focus should be on other research that suggests that teens who vape are more likely to later smoke conventional cigarettes and use other tobacco products.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Pope Francis tells teens ‘happiness not an app’

VATICAN CITY — Happiness is not an app you can download on your mobile phone, Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers on Sunday at a mass to mark a weekend dedicated to youth.

“Freedom is not always about doing what you want. In fact it is the gift of being able to choose the right way,” he said in a homily punctuated by regular bursts of applause from the crowd on a packed St Peter’s Square.

“Your happiness has no price. It cannot be bought and sold: it is not an application you download on a mobile phone. Even the latest version cannot help you to grow and become free in love.”

An estimated 70,000 teenagers were in Rome for a weekend of events to celebrate Francis’s Jubilee year dedicated to the theme of mercy.

In a surprise move on Saturday, the 79-year-old pontiff heard confessions from 16 of them and a video message from him was broadcast at a rock and rap concert in the Stadio Olimpico.

One of the teenagers chosen to confess to the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics said she had been trembling as she approached the chair on which the pope was sitting in St. Peter’s Square.

“But as soon as I sat down I had the feeling of being next to a normal person rather than the pope. Francis is really one of us,” Anna Taibi, 15, told La Repubblica newspaper.

The Sicilian teenager said she had been touched by Francis’s tenderness as he listened to her confession.

“I expected him to give me a penance … instead he absolved me and let me go.”

The importance of mobile phones to contemporary teenagers was also reflected in Francis’s message to the concert.

Clutching an iPhone, he told his audience that living without Jesus was like not having any signal. “Always be sure to go where there is a network: family, parish, school,” he said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

US teens are getting bored with Facebook

Teens may be getting bored with Facebook and trying out other social networks such as Instagram, and the social networking giant is aware of the trend.

A report on BusinessInsider said Facebook itself noted the trend in its annual 10-K report, where it said its younger users are engaging with "other" products and services.




"We believe that some of our users, particularly our younger users, are aware of and actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, Facebook. For example, we believe that some of our users have reduced their engagement with Facebook in favor of increased engagement with other products and services such as Instagram," it quoted Facebook as saying.


Such a trend may lead to "a decline in user engagement and our business could be harmed," it quoted Facebook as saying.

BusinessInsider also quoted Adam Ludwin, developer of social photo album app Albumatic, as saying most members of a focus group of people under age 25 told him they did not like how the app relied heavily on Facebook.

"They gave me the typical teenage response: 'We're bored with Facebook,'" Ludwin told Business Insider.

Even Branch CEO Josh Miller recently asked his 15-year-old sister if she still used Facebook - and learned teens are more fascinated with Instagram and Snapchat.

 "She mentioned that she tries to visit Facebook as infrequently as possible," he wrote.


 He also said his sister told him she only visits Facebook after she is finished with Instagram.

Not even Facebook Chat could give Facebook much help - Miller quoted his sister as saying that when one goes on Facebook Chat, "the people you don’t want to talk to are always the ones who immediately chat with you.”

But BusinessInsider noted teens are not quite closing the door on Facebook and deleting their profiles from the site.

"They're just looking to use the service less, and they're open to communicating on other platforms," it said.

Besides, it said Instagram is a property of Facebook, and founder Mark Zuckerberg "can still monetize them on mobile devices." — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com