Texting may take its toll on teens

May 26, 2009 A pediatrician recently surveyed students at two California high schools. He found they were routinely sending hundreds of texts everyday. And many were sent at night. He says this could trigger sleep depravation in a group already plagued with sleep issues.

A psychologist found that the pressure of answering text messages can also lead to stress and anxiety because, she says, teenagers fear being "out of the loop."

Experts explain the rise in texting is too recent to have produced any conclusive data on health effects and that more research needs to be done.