Shocking new research by scientists and analysts at the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods, WISERD, has found more than one in five teenagers accepting that they "almost always" wake up during the night to look at or post messages on Facebook.
This has left most teens and pre-teens tired and unable to concentrate at school. More than a third of those aged 12-15 said they woke up at night at least once a week to check or post messages, reports The Irish Mirror.
When asked how often they woke up at night to use social media, 23 percent of 10th graders and 22 percent of eighth grade pupils answered 'almost always,' according to The Telegraph.
"Having a regular wake time and using social media during the night appear to be more important in determining whether a young person is always tired during the day than the time they go to bed, how long they spend in bed and having a regular bedtime," WISERD's Dr Kimberly Horton said.
"It seems [very] important to discourage adolescents from using social media during the night. No amount of effort to develop regular bedtimes or to lengthen the time in bed would seem to be able to compensate for the disruption that this can cause," Horton added.
The paper, titled, 'Routines and Rest: The Sleep Behavior of Twelve to Fifteen Year Olds' argues against later school times, saying that "having a regular morning routine may actually prove to be a very important feature in helping adolescents concentrate and enjoy their learning, something that may actually be undermined by changes to the school day."
