Taking your screens to bed greatly raises risk of insomnia: study

By Stephen Beech

Using a mobile phone or laptop in bed raises the risk of insomnia by 59%, warns new research.

One hour’s screen use after going to bed also reduces sleep time by 24 minutes, according to the Norwegian study.

Scientists found that using a screen in bed at night makes it much more likely you’ll sleep less and sleep badly.

But social media use is no worse than any other form of screen time, according to the survey of more than 45,000 young adults in Norway published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Researcher suggests that people who struggle to sleep should stop looking at their phone or laptop at least 30 minutes before getting into bed.

Study lead author Dr. Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said: “The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed.

“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.”

Sleep is critical to mental and physical health, but many people don’t get enough.

But increasing numbers of people regularly use screens in bed - such as to scroll social media or to watch a film on their laptop.

Previous studies suggest that screen use impacts sleep in four ways: notifications disturb sleep, screen time replaces sleeping time, screen activities keep people wakeful so it takes longer to fall asleep, or light exposure delays circadian rhythms.

Dr. Hjetland said: “Sleep problems are highly prevalent among students and have significant implications for mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being, but previous studies have primarily focused on adolescents.

“Given the widespread use of screens in bed we aimed to explore the relationship between different screen activities and sleep patterns.

"We expected that social media use might be more strongly associated with poorer sleep, given its interactive nature and potential for emotional stimulation.”

The research team used the 2022 Students’ Health and Wellbeing survey, a national study of Norwegian students. They reached 45,202 participants in full-time higher education, aged between 18 and 28.

The participants were first asked to say whether they used screens after going to bed and for how long.

They were then asked to identify their chosen activities: watching shows or movies, gaming, social media, surfing the internet, listening to audio such as podcasts, or reading study-related materials.

The participants were also asked to report their bedtime and rising time, as well as how long it took them to fall asleep, how often they had trouble falling or staying asleep, how often they felt sleepy during the day, and how long their sleep problems persisted.

Insomnia was defined as trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness issues at least three times a week over at least three months.

The research team then sorted responses into three categories: one where participants said they only used social media, one where participants did not mention social media, and one where participants selected several activities, including social media.

The team found that increasing screen time after bedtime by one hour increased the odds of insomnia symptoms by 59% and lowered sleep duration by 24 minutes.

But using social media wasn’t more detrimental than other screen activities.

The researchers said was no significant interaction between the time spent using a screen and the choice of activity, suggesting that the activity itself didn’t affect the amount of time people stayed awake.

They say that indicates that screens reduce sleep time because they displace rest, not because they increase wakefulness: different activities would be expected to affect wakefulness differently.

Dr. Hjetland said: “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 to 60 minutes before sleep.

“If you do use screens, consider disabling notifications to minimize disruptions during the night.”

However, the researchers cautioned that the study focused on a single culture, and there could be notable differences in the relationship between screen use and sleep globally.

They said that to compare social media use with other screen activities, some activities that could have different effects on sleep - such as listening to music or playing games - were included in a single category.

Dr. Hjetland said: “This study cannot determine causality - for example, whether screen use causes insomnia or if students with insomnia use screens more."

She added: “The study also did not include physiological assessments, which could provide more precise insights into sleep patterns.”