A new study of Morris and Gabriela Goldschlager School of Dentistry States that increasing use of smartphones and social networks may lead to sleep problems, drowsiness and a feeling of fatigue during the day, and even teeth grinding and pain in the muscles of the mouth and jaw joints. The research was conducted as part of Dr. Yitzhak Hochhauser's thesis and led by Dr. Alona Amodi-Perlman, Dr. Pasia Friedman-Robin, Prof. Ilana Eli and Prof. Ephraim Winokur. The study is expected to be published soon in the journal Quintessence International.
Those who use more suffer more
"In today's era, people live by feeling FOMO (fear of missing out), and they want to stay constantly updated and know at any moment 'what's new'. This need naturally also creates a growing dependence on the mobile phone, which leads to feelings of stress and anxiety - 'someone may write something on social networks and I will miss or not be in the news,'" explain Dr. Pasia Friedman-Robin and Prof. Ilana Eli.
In the study, the first of its kind conducted in Israel, the researchers compared two groups (about 600 participants in total): a group of secular people who use smartphones, and a group of ultra-orthodox people, most of whom use a "kosher" phone without an Internet connection. In the study, the respondents were asked to refer to a number of aspects that characterize overuse of the phone, including a feeling of stress and tension throughout the day, a tendency to wake up at night, the need to be available on a mobile phone, and symptoms of teeth grinding and pain in the jaw joint.
The findings in the study are unequivocal: 54% of the secular smartphone users often wake up at night at a moderate to high level compared to only 20% among the ultra-Orthodox. In addition, half of the seculars feel feelings of pressure because of the mobile phone at a medium to high level compared to only 22% among the ultra-Orthodox. The differences between the groups are also reflected in the question of the need for the availability of the mobile devices: 45% Of the seculars, they answered that their need for the availability of the mobile device is medium to high, compared to 20% only in the ultra-Orthodox group.
|
|
cases of awakening at night |
Feeling stressed because of the phone |
Excessive use of the mobile phone | |||
|
|
religious |
Secular |
religious |
Secular |
religious |
Secular |
|
low |
80% |
46% |
78% |
50% |
80% |
55% |
|
medium |
17.5% |
39% |
21% |
43% |
12% |
26% |
|
High |
2.5% |
15% |
1% |
7% |
8% |
19% |
These disparities become even more acute when examining the damage to the chewing muscles and jaw joints: 45% of the seculars indicated symptoms of teeth grinding (24% during the day and 21% at night), and 29% of them claimed pain in the jaw muscles, compared to only about 14% Of the ultra-Orthodox who suffer from these symptoms (13.5% - teeth grinding and 14% pain in the jaw muscles). Among the factors that contribute to the development of muscle pain and tooth erosion can be identified the level of use of the mobile phone during the night and the stress caused by the mobile phone.
|
|
Grinding teeth at night |
Teeth grinding during the day |
Pain in the muscles of the jaws |
|
religious |
6% |
7.5% |
14% |
|
Secular |
21% |
24% |
29% |
The disadvantages of the technology revolution
Dr. Pasia Friedman-Robin explained that despite the differences in social perceptions between the population groups, which can affect the degree of stress they are under, the study was able to isolate the effect of the smartphone and point to it as a source of anxiety. "The smartphone revolution does have many advantages in terms of accessibility and availability of information, but the desire to keep up to date with the new posts that appeared on social networks, or the new article published on one or another website, and the need to be available all the time - also creates a feeling of pressure and anxiety among the users."
"In the current study, we found for the first time a connection between the increasing use of smartphones that enable browsing social applications, and a significant increase in cases of waking up at night (which cause fatigue during the day), pain in the face and jaw area and clenching of the jaws during the day and grinding of the teeth at night - physical symptoms that often result from stress and anxiety, And may even lead to physical harm such as the erosion of the teeth and damage to the joints. We are indeed in favor of technological progress, but as with everything in life, too much use of smartphones may also cause negative symptoms and it is important that the public be aware of the consequences this has on the body and mind."
More of the topic in Hayadan:
