Explained: How screentime before bed is keeping you awake

How was the study carried out?

The latest analysis, ‘How and when screens are used: comparing different screen activities and sleep in Norwegian university students’, was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry on Monday (March 31). It was carried out by researchers based in Norway, Australia, and Sweden.

The researchers used data from Norway’s Student’s Health and Wellbeing survey of 2022, which captured information of 45,000 Norwegian adults between the ages of 18 and 28.

The survey, among other things, asked respondents about their screen use behavior before bed, the internet content they consumed, as well as their sleep quality.

What did the study find?

Regression analyses — a statistical method used to determine the structure of a relationship between variables — showed that those not using screens in bed had 24% lower odds of reporting symptoms of insomnia, compared to those using screens. But the type of screen activity did not really matter, according to the study.

“We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption,” Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and lead author of the study, told Deutsche Welle.

The study found that “time displacement” — where screen use delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting — rather than emotional stimulation was the main reason why screen time affects sleep.

“If screen use displaces time that could otherwise be used for sleep, this may explain the reduction in sleep duration,” Hjetland told Newsweek.

If “increased arousal” was an important contributor to poorer sleep, the study would have shown “associations between screen time and sleep for the different screen activities”.

So, how should one ‘wind down’ at night?

The analysis suggests that in order to improve the quality of one’s sleep, it is essential to reduce screen time before sleeping.

“If you struggle with sleep… 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 minimise disruptions during the night,” Hjetland told DW.

In an interview with Newsweek, Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep specialist, said people should have a nightly wind-down ritual, beginning one to two hours before bed.

“Ideally, you should consider a pre-bedtime routine that focuses on reducing stress and relaxing,” she said. “This includes putting away your electronic devices.”