Summary: The US Surgeon General recently recommended warning labels for social media platforms due to their potential impact on youth mental health and sleep. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health highlights screen habits linked with better sleep, such as keeping screens out of the bedroom, turning off phones completely, and avoiding social media before bed. The study, which analyzed data from nearly 9,400 preteens, found that leaving notifications on, even in silent mode, leads to less sleep, and using devices after waking up during the night further disrupts sleep.
Key Takeaways:
- Screen Habits and Sleep Quality: Keeping screens out of the bedroom and turning off phones entirely are associated with longer and better sleep in adolescents, according to the study.b
- Impact of Notifications: The study also found that leaving phone notifications on, even in silent mode, increases the risk of sleep disturbances and reduces overall sleep duration.
- Social Media Use: Engaging with social media and other electronic devices before bed or during night awakenings was linked to poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration among adolescents.
The US Surgeon General recently recommended a warning label for social media platforms due to concerns about their impact on youth mental health. The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health highlighted potential links between social media use and poor sleep quality in youth.
Considering these concerns, what specific actions can adolescents and parents take to improve sleep? A new national study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, offers insights into screen habits linked with better sleep.
“Ensuring adolescents get enough sleep is vital, as it supports their physical and mental growth and development,” says lead author Jason Nagata, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, in a release. “Our research found that leaving notifications on, even in silent mode, leads to less sleep compared to turning the phone off completely or keeping it outside the bedroom.”
Tips include:
- Keep screens outside of the bedroom. Having a TV set or internet-connected device in the bedroom was associated with shorter sleep duration.
- Turn off the phone. Leaving the phone ringer on or turning notifications to silent or vibrate was associated with less sleep compared to turning the phone off entirely. Leaving the phone ringer on was associated with a 25% higher risk of sleep disturbance compared to turning it off. 16.2% of adolescents reported having a phone call, text message, or e-mail wake them up after trying to go to sleep in the past week.
- Don’t use social media or other electronic devices before going to sleep. Using social media, chatting on the internet, playing video games, browsing the internet, and watching or streaming movies, videos, or TV shows while in bed before sleeping were all associated with less sleep.
- If you wake up during the night, don’t use your phone or engage with social media. One-fifth of adolescents reported using their phone or other device after waking up during the night in the past week, and this was associated with less sleep overnight.
Study Details and Methodology
The researchers analyzed data from 9,398 preteens aged 11-12 who were part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. Data were collected from 2018 to 2021.
The adolescents and their parents answered questions about their sleep habits, and youth were asked about their screen and social media use at bedtime. A quarter of preteens had sleep disturbance. 16.2% reported being woken up by phone calls, text messages, or emails while sleeping at least once in the past week. Furthermore, 19.3% reported using their phone or another device if they woke up overnight.
“Adolescents can be extremely sensitive to phone notifications, often waking up instantly when they hear their phone,” says Nagata in a release. “Even if a phone is on silent or vibrate, adolescents may still check it overnight. Once they start reading or responding to messages, they can become more alert and activated.”
Co-author, Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, adds in a release, “Adolescent development is a challenging time for many given the social pressures and physical, psychological, and emotional changes that occur. Understanding this process and being present to support youth in their social media use is crucial.”
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