Parents and health experts have long cautioned teens about the dangers of using screens before bedtime, thinking that late-night scrolling on social media or binge-watching videos disrupts sleep and leads to tired, cranky kids the next day. However, a new study from New Zealand suggests it might be time to rethink this advice. Researchers discovered that screen time in the two hours before bed had minimal effect on adolescents’ sleep.
What was more significant was whether they used screens after getting into bed. Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the new study provides a more detailed understanding of how different types of screen usage influence sleep among young people. (Also read: 7 tips for parents to reduce child's screen time as it could be leading to obesity, poor grades ) Connection between screen time and sleep The research findings challenge some long-held beliefs.
Screen time within the two hours before bed had little significant impact on most aspects of sleep health . On average, teens spend around 56 minutes on screens during this time. While this use was linked to later bedtimes, it was balanced out by later wake times, leading to no overall change in sleep duration.
In contrast, using screens after getting into bed was associated with shorter sleep. Participants typically spent 16 minutes on their devices while lying in bed before trying to sleep. For every 10 minutes of screen time during this period, total sleep time decreased by three minutes.
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