PERIODS of recuperative rest are still an obstacle to unlimited mobile phone usage, it has emerged.
Researchers found that even increasingly bright smartphone screens and louder, almost incessant bleeping are not enough to compel humanity to completely forego sleep.
Professor Henry Brubaker of the Institute for Studies said: “It’s worrying that physical fatigue is still overcoming our basic need for constant hand-held entertainment.
“When you are asleep you could be missing out on vital social media updates, but an evolutionary flaw means it is difficult to overcome fatigue indefinitely even if you have a massive coffee at midnight.
“Hopefully it will soon be standard for phones and tablets to give their owner a powerful electric shock if they are left unused for more than 20 minutes.”
Trainee teacher Emma Bradford said: “I often find myself asleep during the night, when I would rather be lying on my side staring at celebrity news on a small glowing screen.
“Last night for example I fell asleep at 2am after a marathon WhatsApp chat, and by the time I woke up I had entirely missed a meme featuring a sassy gerbil stuck in a Wellington boot.”
