Teens spend almost an hour on the phones overnight on school nights

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-19 01:00

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Photo by Dipqi Ghozali on Unsplash

Teens spend almost an hour on their phones between 10pm and 6am on school nights when they should be sleeping, according to US research. The study looked at smartphone use over this eight-hour window because a bedtime of 10pm would allow for the minimum amount of recommended sleep before needing to wake up at 6am on a school day. The found teens spent an average of 50 minutes on their phones during this time, with more than 65% of that spent on social media apps.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California, USA

Funder: Dr Nagata is supported by the National Institutes of Health (K08HL159350, RF1MH135492, R01DA064134) and Rise Together, a donor-advised fund sponsored and administered by National Philanthropic Trust and established by Richard Reeves, founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men.

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