It’s almost impossible to keep teens off their phones in bed – but new research shows it really does affect their sleep

Screen Time and Sleep: A Myth Busted?

For years, parents and healthcare professionals have been warning about the dangers of screen time and digital devices before bed. The assumption was that screens could harm the sleep patterns of young people. But do screens really hurt the length and quality of sleep?

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that using screens in bed was worse for sleep than using screens for hours before going to bed. This challenges long-held assumptions about screen time at night and could help parents improve the quality of their children’s sleep.

Connecting Sleep and Screens

Global organizations recommend that adolescents stop using devices in the hour or two before bed and instead engage in relaxing activities like reading or spending time with family. However, previous research has several limitations, including the inability to accurately capture true screen time and the use of questionnaires to assess both screen time and sleep.

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To address these weaknesses, researchers asked 85 adolescents aged between 11 and 14 to wear a body camera on their chest for the three hours before bed, for four nights. These cameras accurately captured when, what, and how adolescents used their screens. The research participants also wore an actigraph – a watch-sized device that objectively measured screen time.

Teen Nighttime Activity

The study found that most adolescents spent a significant amount of time using screens in bed. In fact, 99% of participants used screens in the two hours before bed, more than half used screens while in bed, and a third used screens even after trying to go to sleep.

The researchers analyzed the data to determine the impact of screen time on sleep. They found that screen time before bed had little impact on sleep, but screen time once in bed did impair sleep. In fact, every additional ten minutes of interactive screen activities like gaming and multitasking reduced the amount of sleep participants got that night by almost nine minutes.

Revisiting Guidelines

The study’s findings challenge existing guidelines on screen time and sleep. While screens at night may not be the major sleep disruptors they were once thought to be, allowing young people to have screens in bed can be detrimental to their quality of sleep.

So, what’s the takeaway? Keep those devices out of the bedroom. Instead, encourage your teenagers to engage in relaxing activities before bed, like reading, listening to music, or practicing relaxation techniques.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study’s findings highlight the importance of considering the timing and context of screen use in relation to sleep. While screens may not be the primary sleep disruptors they were once thought to be, allowing young people to have screens in bed can still have a negative impact on their sleep quality. By keeping devices out of the bedroom and encouraging relaxing activities before bed, parents can help improve the sleep quality of their teenagers.

FAQs

Q: Is screen time before bed a major sleep disruptor?
A: No, the study found that screen time before bed had little impact on sleep.

Q: What type of screen activities were most harmful to sleep?
A: Interactive screen activities like gaming and multitasking were most harmful to sleep, reducing sleep quality by almost nine minutes per ten-minute increment.

Q: What’s the best way to keep teenagers off their phones in bed?
A: Encourage them to keep devices out of the bedroom and engage in relaxing activities before bed, such as reading, listening to music, or practicing relaxation techniques.

Q: Should parents limit screen time overall?
A: The study suggests that parents should focus on the timing and context of screen use rather than overall screen time limits. By keeping devices out of the bedroom and encouraging relaxing activities before bed, parents can help improve the sleep quality of their teenagers.