Is Sleep Loss Due to Social Media Addiction Associated with Mental Health Conditions?

Since it’s advent, social networking sites (SNS) have engulfed the world’s internet usage with an estimated 39% of the world’s population being users. SNS have addictive properties that result in morphological and hormonal cerebral changes. Continued use of SNS results in changes to grey matter volume within the amygdala and midcingulate cortex that result in a greater drive towards impulsive behaviours. Morphological change does not occur within the reward centres of the brain; however, they do increase in activity when shown a simple “like” on a SNS post. In conjunction with this, continued SNS use results in cerebral hormonal changes. Dopamine pathways within the brain are built to activate not only when they receive reward, but also in anticipation of reward. As dopamine spikes occur when an individual sees positive “likes or comments” on their SNS, the brain eagerly anticipates this feedback and those dopamine pathways stay active. These changes result in SNS addiction. SNS can only be accessed digitally, typically through blue light emitting screens. Artificial blue light has a more potent effect on dysregulation of circadian rhythm compared to natural light through the suppression of melatonin release. SNS addiction leads to an increased exposure to blue light, particularly around bedtime. Leading to a decrease in sleep opportunity. Additionally, notifications due to SNS throughout the night result in disrupted sleep. Sleep patterns are abnormal in the majority of psychiatric conditions, and while disrupted sleep may not be the cause of these conditions, it is certainly a contributing factor. There exist two main categories of sleep, REM and non-REM sleep. REM sleep is associated with processing emotional event through the amygdala. Sleep studies have shown increased amygdala activity in response to negative images in sleep deprived individuals over those who are not sleep deprived. Therefore sleep deprivation resulting in a lack of REM sleep leads to the loss of cerebral ability to deal with negative emotional events. Poor sleep also results in a decreased production of serotonin within the brain, a hormone that plays a crucial role in overall happiness. In conclusion, it is possible for one to become morphologically and hormonally addicted to social media. Resulting in a poor sleep hygiene and sleep deprivation that ultimately contributes to the development of mental health conditions.