A recent study linked screen habits with better sleep. The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health highlighted potential links between social media use and poor sleep quality in youth. Concerns regarding the influence of social media platforms on the mental health of the youth, led the US Surgeon General to suggest a warning label for them.

Jason Nagata, MD, associate professor of paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and lead author of the study said, “Ensuring adolescents get enough sleep is vital, as it supports their physical and mental growth and development.

“Our research found that leaving notifications on, even in silent mode, leads to less sleep compared to turning the phone off completely or keeping it outside the bedroom.”

The researchers analysed data from 9,398 preteens between 11 and 12 years of age who are part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. This is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. The data used for the study were from 2018 to 2021.

For the study, the researchers asked the adolescents and their parents to answer questions about their sleep habits and youth were asked about their screen and social media use at bedtime.

The study revealed that a quarter of preteens had sleep disturbance. 16.2% reported being woken up by phone calls, text messages or emails while sleeping at least once in the past week. Also, 19.3% reported using their phone or another device if they woke up overnight.

Nagata said, “Adolescents can be extremely sensitive to phone notifications, often waking up instantly when they hear their phone.

“Even if a phone is on silent or vibrate, adolescents may still check it overnight. Once they start reading or responding to messages, they can become more alert and activated.”

Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work said, “Adolescent development is a challenging time for many given the social pressures and physical, psychological, and emotional changes that occur.

“Understanding this process and being present to support youth in their social media use is crucial.”

The researchers also suggested tips that can help improve sleep patterns.

Keep screens outside of the bedroom. Having a TV set or internet-connected device in the bedroom was associated with shorter sleep duration. Turn off the phone. Leaving the phone ringer on or turning notifications to silent or vibrate was associated with less sleep compared to turning the phone off entirely. Leaving the phone ringer on was associated with a 25% higher risk of sleep disturbance compared to turning it off. 16.2% of adolescents reported having a phone call, text message, or e-mail wake them up after trying to go to sleep in the past week.

Don’t use social media or other electronic devices before going to sleep. Using social media, chatting on the internet, playing video games, browsing the internet and watching or streaming movies, videos or TV shows while in bed before sleeping were all associated with less sleep.

If you wake up during the night, don't use your phone or engage with social media. One-fifth of adolescents reported that they used their phone or other device after waking up during the night in the past week. This was associated with less sleep overnight.