• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Study warns using your phone may raise the risk of ADHD

Home> News> Tech News

Published 11:31 31 Jan 2024 GMT

Study warns using your phone may raise the risk of ADHD

Could using your phone increase the risk of developing ADHD symptoms?

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

Featured Image Credit: Fotografía de eLuVe / somethingway / Getty
Smartphone
Tech tips

Advert

Advert

Advert

We all know it's not great to spend every minute of the day glued to our phones.

That's why both iPhones and Androids now come with a bunch of controls and settings to help you monitor your screen time, from app locks to timers, all with that same goal.

Still, it's hard to get a grasp on what the risks actually are in reality.

Justin Lambert / Getty

A study from back in 2018, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has makes some pretty bold suggestions around smartphones and the risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Advert

The paper took a group of 15 and 16-year-olds who had no symptoms of ADHD - which include difficulty concentrating and hyperactivity - and studied them for the next 24 months.

The researchers found that there was a common trend: the more these teens used digital media, the more likely they were to develop ADHD symptoms. The risk was higher for boys than girls, and for teens who had depression.

It's particularly interesting as there seems to be a recent rise in adults being diagnosed with ADHD - could this be at least partially down to the constant distractions offered by smartphones?

After all, whether it's social media, video streaming, messaging or more, there are basically countless things you could do on your phone at any given moment, all of which could pull you away from whatever task you're trying to engage with.

Advert

Thankfully, there are loads of ways to control how your phone dominates you, if you're keen to reduce its presence in your mind.

Kathrin Ziegler / Getty

iPhones have screen time controls that you can set up really easily, as well as focus options that let you reduce distractions in a variety of ways.

Whether you're an iOS fan or an Android user, turning off push notifications for apps that don't really need to be able to get your attention at any time can also really help.

Advert

Again, outside of messaging and calls, it's unlikely that your apps are actually communicating genuinely important information much of the time - often these notifications are basically just attempts to grab your attention and get you back on the app.

Many experts also recommend disengaging from your phone at night as early as you feasibly can. This might mean charging it in a different room to the one you sleep in and getting a more traditional alarm clock.

These steps are obviously not a cure-all of ADHD, but they're small changes that could help you reduce your reliance on your phone, since this study indicates there might be a link between the two.

  • Scary reason why FBI warn against using public phone charging stations
  • Doctor issues disturbing warning over three phone habits that are 'killing our brains'
  • Experts say you should stop using Bluetooth after discovering 'dangerous' risks
  • Health experts warn over the dangers of phubbing in your relationship

Choose your content:

16 hours ago
17 hours ago
18 hours ago
  • AnnaEle/Getty Images
    16 hours ago

    Experts issue warning over potentially dangerous weight loss jabs for pets

    GLP-1 drugs are set to be approved to combat obesity in pets

    Science
  • Patrick McMullan / Contributor via Getty
    16 hours ago

    Man who blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program reveals if he thinks Jeffrey Epstein was a spy

    It's not what you know, it's who you know

    News
  • ChatGPT
    17 hours ago

    ChatGPT created what the US will look like after another three years of Donald Trump and it's frightening

    The future doesn't look great for the United States

    News
  • Creative Images Lab/Getty Images
    18 hours ago

    Surprising study shows how smoking weed as a teenager impacts your brain

    This comes after an expert claimed your brain is left to stew in a ‘cannabis soup’

    Science