The Link Between Facebook Browsing and Insomnia

Do you spend hours scrolling through Facebook? Perhaps your insomnia is to blame. According to 'Health Day News', results from a week-long study on a group of students indicate that lack of sleep leads to aimless online browsing the following day. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, who oversaw the study, states: 'When you sleep less than necessary, you have less focus. When your attention is diverted, what do you do? You go to Facebook. Facebook doesn’t require much concentration, it’s easy to browse, and you’re tired.' While many studies have examined the impact of technology on sleep processes, this research explored the reverse effect of sleep and technology. Gloria Mark explains: 'We wanted to see how sleep affects technology use.' The study shows a direct correlation between prolonged sleep deprivation, increased distractibility, and heightened Facebook usage. It also indicates that individuals suffering from insomnia visit more electronic pages (computers, mobiles, tablets, etc.) during the day, reflecting their distracted state and decreased focus.