Bedtime screentime affects adults' sleep too

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-03-28 10:32

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A US study of 122,058 US adults found people who are glued to a screen before bed every night sleep less and experience poorer quality sleep than those who never use screens before bed, although the differences in sleep duration were modest. Screen junkies slept for an average of 7.64 minutes less on workdays and 5.04 minutes less on non-working days than never-screeners. Loss of sleep was more pronounced among screen-loving night owls, with an average of 8.36 minutes less sleep than never-screeners on workdays, while morning larks slept an average of 5.04 minutes less. The square-eyed participants were also likely to go bed later than screen-free people, an average of 9.33 minutes later among morning larks, and 15.62 minutes later among night owls. Although the differences in sleep duration were low, screens before bed also affected sleep quality, with screen users 33% more likely to report poor sleep quality than never-screeners. The experts say the findings suggest it's not just kids and teens whose sleep is affected by bedtime screentime, adults are susceptible too.