Association between internet use and sleep problems in adolescents/Ergenlerde internet kullanimi ile uyku problemleri arasindaki iliski

Introduction: Sleep problems are commonly encountered in adolescents. It has been shown that electronic media have a negative influence on the sleep quality and daytime functioning in adolescents. This study aims to investigate the association between internet use and sleep problems in adolescents. Method: A total of 1212 adolescents were recruited to the study. Self-report study questionnaire included two main parts: Young's Internet Addiction Scale (IAS) and a semi-structured inquiry on sleep habits/problems. Results: Of the study sample, 16% (n=198) reported their sleep quality as bad or very bad. One-fourth of the sample reported using internet everyday and 27% of them reported spending more than one hour when online. The mean IAS total score was 35.56[+ or -]13.87. Adolescents with a higher IAS score reported getting to bed later in the night, needing more time to fall asleep and having an increased number of awakenings in the night than the adolescents with lower IAS score (p=0.001). They were also found to have higher frequencies of several sleep problems including difficulty in initiating and sustaining sleep, difficulty in waking up and feelings of sleepiness in day. In addition, sleep quality of them was worse when compared to the adolescents with a lower IAS score (p=0.001). Conclusion: Problematic sleep habits and sleep problems were found to be more frequent in adolescents with a higher IAS total score. Health care providers must be aware of the possible negative impact of excessive and uncontrolled internet use on adolescents' sleep habits. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2014;51:122-128) Key words: Sleep problems, adolescent, internet Conflict of interest: The authors reported no conflict of interest related to this article. Giris: Uyku sorunlari ergenlerde sik olarak gorulmektedir. Elektronik medyanin ergenlerin uyku kalitelerini ve gunluk islevselliklerini olumsuz etkiledigi gosterilmistir. Bu calisma ergenlerde internet kullanimi ile uyku problemleri arasindaki iliskiyi incelemeyi amaclamaktadir. Yontem: Toplam 1212 ergen calismaya dahil edildi. Kendi bildirim calisma anketi iki ana bolum iceriyordu: Young'in Internet Bagimlilik Olcegi (IBO) ve uyku aliskanliklari/uyku problemleri uzerine yari yapilandirilmis bir olcek. Bulgular: Calisma ornekleminin %16'si uyku kalitelerini kotu ya da cok kotu degerlendirdi. Orneklemin dortte biri interneti hergun kullandigini bildirirken, %27'si online oldugunda bir saatten fazla zaman gecirdigini bildirdi