Parents who let kids use phones in bed could be dooming their sleep health

The researchers also examined whether following current guidelines about stopping screen use 30, 60, or 120 minutes before attempting sleep made a difference. They found no association between time since the last screen use and any sleep measure, further challenging existing recommendations.

While the study provides valuable insights, it’s important to note its limitations. The sample size was relatively small and participants’ parents were highly educated, which may limit how widely the results can be applied. The study also focused on a narrow age range before significant shifts in sleep preferences typically occur in late adolescence.

Despite these caveats, the findings offer food for thought for parents, health professionals, and policymakers. They suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach to screen time and sleep may not be the most effective. Instead, focusing on reducing screen use once in bed, particularly interactive activities, could be a more practical and impactful strategy for improving adolescent sleep.

“Our findings suggest that the impact of screen time on sleep is primarily through time displacement delaying sleep onset rather than any direct effects of blue light or interactive engagement as we didn’t find associations with sleep latency and wakefulness during the sleep period,” says Brosnan. “We need to revisit sleep guidelines, so they fit the world we live in, and actually make sense – the current ones aren’t achievable or appropriate for how we live.”

Paper Summary

Methodology

The researchers used a combination of wearable cameras, stationary bedroom cameras, and wrist-worn accelerometers to gather data. Participants wore the cameras for four nights over a week, capturing their screen use from two hours before bedtime until they tried to sleep. The bedroom camera recorded any screen use after getting into bed. Accelerometers measured sleep duration and quality. This approach allowed for objective measurement of both screen time and sleep patterns, providing a more accurate picture than self-reported data.

Key Results

The study found that screen use in the two hours before bed didn’t significantly affect overall sleep duration. However, using screens after getting into bed was associated with shorter sleep. Interactive screen activities, like gaming or multitasking, were particularly disruptive. For every 10 minutes of interactive screen time in bed, sleep duration decreased by 9 minutes. Even passive screen use in bed was linked to shorter sleep, though less dramatically.

Study Limitations

The study had a relatively small sample size of 79 participants, and their parents were highly educated, which may limit how widely the results can be applied. The age range studied (11-14 years) was narrow, missing potential changes in sleep patterns that occur in later adolescence. The study also can’t rule out all possible confounding factors that might influence the relationship between screen use and sleep.

Discussion & Takeaways

The findings challenge the conventional wisdom that all screen use before bed is harmful to sleep. They suggest that current sleep hygiene guidelines may need updating to focus more on limiting screen use once in bed, particularly interactive activities. The study highlights the importance of the “shut-eye latency” period – the time between getting into bed and attempting to sleep – as a crucial window for sleep health. The researchers argue for a more nuanced approach to screen time recommendations that aligns with the reality of how adolescents use technology.

Funding & Disclosures

The study was funded by Lotteries Health Research. One of the researchers, Prof Taylor, was supported by the Karitane Fellowship. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

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