Sleepless? Put down your phone, doctors say

With more than 900 million subscribers, the
country's mobile phone industry is booming. But the
country is losing sleep due to obsession with
cellphones.
A survey has found that nearly seven in 10 people
carry their mobile phones to bed with them. One reason
that people remain on the phone instead of going to
sleep is the worry that they will miss out on something,
say psychiatrists. Experts warn that cellphone
addiction can, among other things, result in amnesia.
"A person addicted to cellphones has a vague fear of
not being part of something unless he checks the
device every few minutes," says psychotherapist
Darsha Gandhi Mehta. "Mobile phone users can
develop a phobia of being left behind or missing out
on something important."
"I know people who go to sleep as they are texting or
posting something on Facebook," says Aditi Rao, a
counsellor. "This is certainly not a healthy habit. It is
something that should be consciously avoided."
Phubbing, the irritating habit of people fiddling with
their cellphones when someone is speaking to them, is
on the rise. A survey by Time magazine found that 71%
of Indians — the highest percentage in the world — are
on their phones while in a restaurant.
This dependence on cellphones could be related to the
way youngsters are brought up. "Phubbers were born
at a time when we started finding comfort in gadgets
rather than people," an expert says. "We know that the
person sitting in front of us is with us so it appears
that there is no need to reach out. But a person who is
on the phone or online is at a distance and there is a
compulsion to make contact."
India's fascination with mobile phones is apparently
all consuming. "We look at our phones while watching
TV, when we are in a meeting, we sometimes even pull
out our phones at the movies," says Sidharth D V, an
IT professional. "I think we ought to turn off our
phones for some time every day."
But there is a way to get the sleep your body needs.
"Activities like regular exercise, jogging, sports, dancing
and aerobics can help a person make productive use
of energy that is otherwise dissipated while spending
long hours on the phone. They also help you sleep,"
the expert says.

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