GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -
You may have heard of drunk texting, texting while walking, and now there may be people even texting in their sleep.
According to a study done in Belgium, teenagers are now texting while they are sleeping.
FOX Carolina visited Furman University's campus to see if college students have experienced the new phenomenon.
Junior Kristin Kerber said she uses text messaging all day, but that she would be alarmed if she found out she had been texting in her sleep.
According to an Upstate sleep specialist, some texts might not be remembered depending on when they're sent.
"Teenagers may have texted while they were fully awake but fallen asleep so rapidly, that they didn't incorporate that information into their long term memory," Dr. Freddie Wilson said. "You have to be awake for a few minutes to remember it."
Teenagers send on average 200 text messages per day, which makes sense since they're the ones sending text messages in their sleep. Furman students we met didn't think they texted during their sleep, but say they're not surprised it's happening.
Dr. Wilson said he hasn't seen any cases of sleep texting but recommends people take all electronic devices out of their bedroom. Dr. Wilson also said give yourself an hour of wind down time with no electronic devices.
Also, if you use an e-reader before bed, choose one that does not have a backlight.
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