Twenty-first century technology is bringing with it twenty-first century
disorders. The latest is ‘sleep-texting’ – sending SMS messages in your
sleep. This is a new phenomenon identified by Australia’s Melbourne
Sleep Disorder Centre. Sleep specialist Dr David Cunnington, from the
centre, said the condition is currently quite rare but has the potential
to grow. He said he has seen many instances of sufferers sending
incoherent text messages to their friends while asleep. Texters are
reported to be completely unaware of their late-night messaging. One
expert says the stresses of daily life cause people to text in their
sleep. Another says young people are so attached to their mobile phones
that sleep-texting is almost like sleepwalking.
Dr Cunnington’s advice is to leave the mobile phone out of the bedroom
to resist the urge to text. He said: “If your phone is on the
nightstand, then it will be more difficult to have a good night's sleep
without feeling compelled to reply to a message or check your Facebook
account.” He added: “The key point is that people need to respect their
sleep, and make an effort to switch off at night.” Cunnington explained
that sleep-emailing was a more serious problem, saying: “Emails can be
sent to work colleagues and have much more serious consequences, whereas
text messages are more likely to be accidentally sent to a friend or
family member, so people aren't as likely to complain of a problem.”
-http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1111/111124-sleeptexting.html
No comments:
Post a Comment