WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study surveying over 45,000 university students in Norway explored the link between late-night screen use, and reduced sleep quality and duration.
'The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed,' said paper author Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
'Sleep problems are highly prevalent among students and have significant implications for mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being,' Hjetland added. 'Given the widespread use of screens in bed, we aimed to explore the relationship between different screen activities and sleep patterns.
The 2022 Norway Health and Wellbeing Survey asked participants whether they used digital media after going to bed. Researchers analyzed nationally representative data from 18- to 28-year-old students to explore how screen time in bed affects sleep patterns.
Participants reported engaging in various screen-based activities, including watching films or TV, browsing social media, surfing the internet, and gaming. Among those who used screens before sleep, 69 percent engaged in social media alongside other digital activities.
'We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption-likely due to time displacement, where screen use delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting,' Hjetland explained.
The study also examined how often participants used screens before bed, for how long, and how frequently they experienced sleep difficulties such as trouble falling asleep, waking up early, or feeling fatigued.
Researchers then compared these responses with self-reported sleep metrics, including bedtime, wake-up time, insomnia symptoms, daytime drowsiness, and whether sleep disturbances persisted for three months or more.
The findings highlighted an increasing disconnect between technology use and sleep hygiene among young adults. An additional hour of screen use after bedtime was associated with a 59 percent higher risk of insomnia symptoms and an average reduction of 24 minutes in sleep duration.
'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,' Hjetland recommended. 'If you do use screens, consider disabling notifications to minimize disruptions during the night.'
The study's authors emphasize the need for further research, including long-term sleep monitoring and investigations into the effects of nighttime device notifications on sleep quality.
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