Phone addiction can have a real impact on our health – and our ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Many of us are glued to our phones, rightly or wrongly. But that addiction could have a real impact on our health and wellbeing – and we ought to leave our phones outside our bedrooms at night.
According to a new study, nighttime screen use dramatically increases your risk of insomnia and significantly reduces your sleep duration.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health surveyed 45,202 young adults aged 18-28. The researchers found that using screens in bed for as little as an hour increases the odds of experiencing insomnia symptoms by around 59% and reduces the amount of sleep each person gets by around 24 minutes per night.
The impact of phone use doesn’t seem to differ depending on what you’re using. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, found no substantial differences between social media use and other screen activities. This counterbalances past papers and research that social platforms might have a uniquely negative impact on sleep disruption because they promote interactivity and emotional responses.
Instead, researchers highlighted that simply staring at a screen – and the time spent engaging with it – were the primary ways that sleep was ruined.
Cutting down on sleep
“The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed,” says lead researcher Dr Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland.
“We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting screen use is the key factor in sleep disruption – likely due to time displacement.”
Sleep displacement has a big impact on our health. Sleep is essential for maintaining mental and physical health, but worldwide, we’re all getting less.
The researchers say sleep is affected by several methods. The ping of notifications interrupts us, replacing time meant for rest while also prolonging our wakefulness and disrupting our circadian rhythms, thanks to the lights on our phones.
The study is the first to look beyond students and into the wider population – important because it shows evidence of the real impacts of device usage.
“Sleep problems are highly prevalent among students and significantly impact mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being,” says Hjetland.
Self-reporting sleep patterns
Participants reported their screen usage in bed across various activities, including watching videos, gaming, social media browsing, internet surfing, audio listening, and study-related reading.
Their responses were then divided into three distinct groups: those exclusively engaging with social media, those avoiding social media altogether, and those engaging in multiple screen activities, including social media before bedtime. Regardless of which group the participants were placed in, extended screen time consistently correlated with worse sleep outcomes.
That’s a surprising result, suggesting that insomnia is triggered because screens displace valuable rest time rather than activities themselves promoting prolonged wakefulness. However, the researchers admit the research reflects Norway’s cultural contexts and recommend further studies across diverse global populations to determine whether this is a global issue. It’s also important to note that correlation isn’t causation.
Regardless, how to tackle worse sleep is another story.
“If you struggle with sleep and suspect that screen time may be a factor, try to reduce screen use in bed, ideally stopping at least 30–60 minutes before sleep,” says Hjetland. Of course, not everyone can put down the phone.
“If screen use is unavoidable, consider disabling notifications to minimize night-time disruptions.”
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