Checking Facebook and Twitter during the day could HALVE your chances of a good night's sleep.

A new job, final exams, first apartment are all factors that can cause sleeping problems among young adults, but now researchers believe social media is also to blame.

A new study revealed young adults who spend their day logging in, positing and liking are more likely to suffer from sleep disturbances at night - with the worst offenders having twice the risk of sleep disturbance.

Researchers also feel those who have problems sleeping might use social media as a pleasurable way to pass the time.

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A new study revealed young adults who spend their day logging in, positing and liking on social media are more likely to suffer from sleep disturbances at night. Researchers also feel those who have problems sleeping at night could use social media as a pleasurable way to pass the time 

'This is one of the first pieces of evidence that social media use really can impact your sleep,' said lead author Jessica C. Levenson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in Pitt's Department of Psychiatry.

'And it uniquely examines the association between social media use and sleep among young adults who are, arguably, the first generation to grow up with social media.'

In 2014, the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine examined 1,788 young adults in the US ages 19 to 32, using the Pew Internet Questionnaire.

WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND? 

After examining participants' answers from the questionnaires researchers found, on average, participants spent 61 minutes a day on social media and visited multiple sites 30 times a week.

It also suggest 30 percent of the participants had high levels of sleep disturbance.

Those who use social media on a regular basis during the week were three times more likely to report sleep disturbances, compared with those who checked it less frequently.

And participants who spent the most total time on social media throughout the day had twice the risk of sleep disturbance, compared to peers who spent less time on social media.

Researchers gathered minutes per day each participant spend on social media and how many times they visited multiple sites during the week, according to the study published in journal Preventive Medicine.

'We assessed sleep disturbance using the brief Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep Disturbance measure.'

'Analyses performed in Pittsburgh utilized chi-square tests and ordered logistic regression using sample weights in order to estimate effects for the total US'.

The questionnaire asked about the 11 most popular social media sites during the time of the study: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn.

After examining participants' answers researchers found, on average, participants spent 61 minutes a day on social media and visited multiple sites 30 times a week.

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In 2014, the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine examined 1,788 young adults in the US ages 19 to 32, using the Pew Internet Questionnaire. Researchers gathered minutes per day each participant spend on social media and how many times they visited multiple sites during the week

It also suggests 30 percent of the participants had high levels of sleep disturbance.

Those who use social media on a regular basis during the week were three times more likely to report sleep disturbances, compared with those who checked it less frequently.

SOCIAL MEDIA MAY DISTURB SLEEP IF IT IS: 

Displacing sleep, such as when a user stays up late posting photos on Instagram.

Promoting emotional, cognitive or physiological arousal, such as when engaging in a contentious discussion on Facebook.

Disrupting circadian rhythms through the bright light emitted by the devices used to access social media accounts. 

And participants who spent the most total time on social media throughout the day had twice the risk of sleep disturbance, compared to peers who spent less time on social media.

'This may indicate that frequency of social media visits is a better predictor of sleep difficulty than overall time spent on social media,' Dr. Levenson explained.

'If this is the case, then interventions that counter obsessive 'checking' behavior may be most effective.'

Senior author Brian A. Primack, M.D., Ph.D., assistant vice chancellor for health and society in Pitt's Schools of the Health Sciences, suggested that more investigating into this topic is necessary if researchers are to determine if social media use contributes to sleep disturbance or if sleep disturbance contributes to social media use or both.

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After examining participants' answers researchers found, on average, the participants spent 61 minutes a day on social media and visited multiple sites 30 times a week. And showed 30 percent of the participants had high levels of sleep disturbance

The team does the alternative being a possiblity, in that young adults who have problems sleeping may turn to social media to pass the time when they can't fall asleep.

'It also may be that both of these hypotheses are true,' said Dr. Primack, also director of Pitt's Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health.

'Difficulty sleeping may lead to increased use of social media, which may in turn lead to more problems sleeping.'

'This cycle may be particularly problematic with social media because many forms involve interactive screen time that is stimulating and rewarding and, therefore, potentially detrimental to sleep.'