Excessive screen time in young adolescents in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their sleep, according to a study presented at SLEEP 2022, the recently concluded 36th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.¹

In the present study, researchers analyzed data of more than 5000 adolescents, aged 11-14 years regarding their sleep and daily screen time, which included use of social media/online games, prior to the pandemic and also across six time points during the first year of the pandemic, from May 2020 to March 2021. 48% of the participants were girls. These adolescents were a part of the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

Compared to the pre-Covid times, during May and August 2020, the children slept late with delayed morning wake up time by ~1.5 hours. In October 2020, this pattern had returned to the pre-pandemic times. At all points of assessment, the bedtime was pushed back by at least an hour. This was especially seen in girls and older adolescents.

During the first year of the pandemic, screen time for recreational purposes saw a significant rise compared to that before the pandemic; adolescents spent nearly 45 minutes longer on social media and 20 minutes longer playing video games versus before the pandemic. Gaming was more prevalent among boys, while use of social media was particularly common among girls. A change in sleeping pattern was observed among adolescents who were more active on social media including video games during the pandemic; they had later bedtimes and also woke up late in the morning.

This study adds to the evidence pertaining to the negative impact of marked screen time on sleep by demonstrating markedly altered sleep timings and increased screen time among adolescents particularly during the first year of the pandemic when more stringent Covid restrictions were in place. This pattern persisted and even during the second year of the pandemic when restrictions had eased. This study reiterates the call for adopting a balanced approach to the use of digital media for good sleep hygiene and the need for maintaining a healthy lifestyle for good health and well-being.

Reference

1. Orsolya Kiss, et al. 0049 Screen time and sleep in young adolescents before and across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep, Volume 45, Issue Supplement_1, June 2022, Pages A22–A23, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac079.047.