Norwegian scientists have calculated that every additional hour of screen time before bed increases the risk of insomnia by 59 percent. To do this, they conducted a survey on screen time distribution and sleep quality among 45,202 students. At the same time, the chances of experiencing insomnia were 35 percent higher among people who combined the use of social networks with other online activities compared to those who only used social networks. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Research on the effects of screen time has typically focused on children and adolescents. For these age groups, researchers have found a link between increased screen time before bed and difficulty falling asleep and daytime sleepiness. However, there is less data on other groups, although, for example, college students spend about 12 hours a day in front of a screen. For them, increased screen time before bed is also associated with difficulty falling asleep, shorter sleep duration, and frequent nighttime awakenings.
In addition, the impact of specific screen activities (social media, internet surfing, watching videos) has been poorly studied. Therefore, a group of scientists led by Boerge Sivertesn from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health looked at how screen time is distributed among Norwegian students before bed and how it is related to sleep quality. The study involved 45,202 people (aged 18 to 28). The participants were asked whether they spend time in front of a screen before bed and what content they prefer. The students also collected data on sleep quality using questionnaires. For statistical analysis, the scientists used logistic regression and linear regression.
It turned out that those students who do not use gadgets before bedtime are 24 percent less likely to experience insomnia symptoms than those who do. Scientists calculated that each additional hour spent in front of a screen increased the risk of insomnia by 59 percent.
The researchers then compared the quality of sleep between those who exclusively used social media before bed and those who also engaged in other online activities. The odds of experiencing insomnia were 35 percent higher in the latter group.
The study has its limitations: it didn’t take into account what content the participants viewed, nor did it take into account their mental health, eating habits, or other factors that affect sleep. All of these should be the subject of further research in this area.
Long-term computer and mobile phone use is associated not only with an increased risk of insomnia, but also with increased levels of stress and depressive symptoms in adolescence. This is the conclusion reached by Finnish scientists in their study.