Not using smartphones in the bedroom increases happiness and quality of life; risk of smartphone addiction decreases when smartphones are left outside the bedroom; sleeping without smartphones improves sleep, relationships, focus and wellbeing

Sleeping with the frenemy: How restricting ‘bedroom use’ of smartphones impacts happiness and wellbeing. Nicola Hughes, Jolanta Burke. Computers in Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.047

Highlights:
•    Not using smartphones in the bedroom increases happiness and quality of life
•    Risk of smartphone addiction decreases when smartphones are left outside the bedroom
•    Going to bed without smartphones in the room improves quality of sleep
•    Sleeping without smartphones improves sleep, relationships, focus and wellbeing
•    93.6% of participants “might” or “would” consider not sleeping with their phone again

Abstract: Smartphone technology has dramatically changed the way people interact with the physical and online world. Research shows both positive and negative impacts of smartphone and social platform use. Positive outcomes relate to social capital and engagement, while negative impacts result from compulsive usage, negative comparisons and the stress of being ‘always on’. Little evidence is available regarding wellbeing impacts of smartphone use at particular times of day. This study measures the impact of overnight smartphone use on wellbeing. Experimental group participants abstained from smartphone use in the bedroom for one week. The Subjective Happiness Scale, Quality of Life Scale, Smartphone Addiction Scale and Intensity & Time Affect Survey were issued at the beginning and end of the week. Paired sample T-Tests compared pre and post intervention participant surveys scores. It was hypothesised that subjective wellbeing would increase. In three out of four measures (SAS-SV, SHS and QOLS) the hypothesis was upheld, although impacts were relatively small. 93.6% of experimental group participants said they “might’ or “would” consider self-imposing intervention conditions moving forward, suggesting that participants experienced greater benefits not measurable through the questionnaires selected. Some qualitative analysis supports exploration of findings. Further research to explore other wellbeing impacts is encouraged.

Keywords: Smartphone; social media; social overload; subjective wellbeing; cyber psychology; positive psychology


Check also Hypernatural Monitoring: A Social Rehearsal Account of Smartphone Addiction. Samuel P. L. Veissière and Moriah Stendel. Front. Psychol., 20 February 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00141

Abstract: We present a deflationary account of smartphone addiction by situating this purportedly antisocial phenomenon within the fundamentally social dispositions of our species. While we agree with contemporary critics that the hyper-connectedness and unpredictable rewards of mobile technology can modulate negative affect, we propose to place the locus of addiction on an evolutionarily older mechanism: the human need to monitor and be monitored by others. Drawing from key findings in evolutionary anthropology and the cognitive science of religion, we articulate a hypernatural monitoring model of smartphone addiction grounded in a general social rehearsal theory of human cognition. Building on recent predictive-processing views of perception and addiction in cognitive neuroscience, we describe the role of social reward anticipation and prediction errors in mediating dysfunctional smartphone use. We conclude with insights from contemplative philosophies and harm-reduction models on finding the right rituals for honoring social connections and setting intentional protocols for the consumption of social information.

Adolescents Who Experienced Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences Are Willing to Experience These Consequences Again in the Future

Wicki, M., Mallett, K. A., Delgrande Jordan, M., Reavy, R., Turrisi, R., Archimi, A., & Kuntsche, E. (2018). Adolescents Who Experienced Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences Are Willing to Experience These Consequences Again in the Future. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000184

Abstract: Alcohol use and risky single occasion drinking are common among adolescents and are associated with a higher risk of various negative social, physical, academic, or sexual consequences. Studies have shown that among college students, willingness to experience negative consequences is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing these consequences in the future. However, it remains unclear how experiencing negative consequences influences adolescents’ willingness to experience them again. Based on a representative sample of 1,333 alcohol-using 14- to 15-year-olds (47.9% female), a path model was used to examine the associations between risky drinking, negative social and physical consequences, and willingness to experience the specific consequence in the future. As hypothesized, more frequent risky drinking was positively associated with experiencing negative consequences (i.e., saying or doing embarrassing things, regretted sexual experiences, impairment of schoolwork, problems with parents/friends, accident or injury, hangover, vomiting, memory lapses). Contrary to our second hypothesis, adolescents who experienced a negative consequence were also consistently willing to experience it in the future. Findings suggest that adolescents may see the experience of negative consequences as a necessary evil to attain the positive consequences. Prevention efforts may benefit from focusing on ways of attaining positive consequences by promoting alternatives to engaging in risky drinking practices, as well as reducing negative consequences (e.g., by promoting protective behavioral strategies).

Check also Hangover and Risk for Alcohol Use Disorders: Existing Evidence and Potential Mechanisms. Thomas M. Piasecki, Brandon M. Robertson, and Amee J. Epler. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2010 Jun; 3(2): 92–102. DOI: 10.2174/1874473711003020092

Abstract: Hangover may be related to propensity to develop alcohol use disorders (AUDs). However, the etiological role, if any, played by hangover in AUD is unclear. From a motivational perspective, hangover can be construed as either a deterrent to future alcohol consumption or a setting event for negative reinforcement that could promote deviant drinking practices (e.g., “hair-of-the-dog” drinking). Hangover could be related to AUD risk even if it does not play a direct role in promoting or inhibiting near-term drinking. For example, measures of hangover might serve as symptoms of AUD or as markers of individual differences that more directly account for AUD risk. Empirical evidence (though usually indirect) exists to support contentions that hangover is related to both risk for and protection from AUD. In this article, we briefly address variation in assessment strategies in existing hangover research because measures of hangover frequency and hangover susceptibility may prove to have different correlates. Next, we review the existing, limited evidence on relations between hangover and AUD risk. Finally, we sketch a variety of theoretically-informed hypotheses that might help delineate productive lines of inquiry for this emerging field.

Keywords: hangover, alcohol, alcohol use disorder, risk, individual differences

Willpower theories predict outcomes across domains of academics, health, goal progress, interpersonal relationships, and well‐being. Generally, limited willpower theorists' belief in their limited capacity results in poorer outcomes, particularly during times of high demand

Lay theories of willpower. Zoë Francis, Veronika Job. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12381

Abstract: Some people believe that willpower relies on a limited resource and that performing cognitive work (such as using self‐control) results in mental fatigue. Others believe that willpower is nonlimited and that performing cognitive work instead prepares and energizes them for more. These differing lay theories of willpower determine whether or not one's self‐control performance actually does decrease or increase after use, with only limited willpower theorists showing a decrease (the ego depletion effect). Due to the self‐control requirements of everyday life, willpower theories also predict outcomes across domains of academics, health, goal progress, interpersonal relationships, and well‐being. Generally, limited willpower theorists' belief in their limited capacity results in poorer outcomes, particularly during times of high demand. By understanding how willpower theories form and function, interventions that encourage nonlimited willpower theories may be created to improve people's performance and well‐being.