Sleep Texting Is a Growing Problem Among Teens: Have You Ever Sleep Texted?

We’ve heard of drunk texting, but sleep texting? That’s a new one. Yet, according to CBS Philadelphia, it’s a growing problem among teens.

Elizabeth Dowdell, a nursing professor at Villanova University, told CBS Philadelphia: “It’s exactly what is sounds like, or really more between that, you know, that area between being asleep and being awake. The phone will beep, they’ll answer the text. They’ll either respond in words or gibberish. (It) can even be inappropriate. Ex-girlfriends contacting ex-boyfriends, saying ‘I miss you. I want to see you.’ The thing that happens, though, is that when they wake up, there’s no memory.”

Apparently this behavior is especially prevalent among teens because they often do not get the eight to ten hours of sleep they need a night. Even if teens are not aware of it, having their sleep regularly interrupted mid-sleep cycle (with beeping or other text alarm noises) can lead to serious problems like obesity, depression, and trouble in school. Dowdell recommends maintaining a technology-free bedroom—unlikely in this day and age—or at least turning off your phone’s ringer and putting it on the other side of the room when sleeping.