Expert Panel Says Screen Use Harms Children, Teens' Sleep Health

Stony Brook Professor Lauren Hale chairs National Sleep Foundation international panel that releases consensus statement

STONY BROOK, New York, May 29, 2024 – Since the emergence of the smartphone in 2007, time spent in front of a digital screen has exploded over the years for children and adults. How the use of smartphones and other digital screen devices affects sleep continues to be debated. In a review of 574 published, peer-reviewed studies on the issue, an international panel of sleep experts selected by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) produced a consensus statement on digital screen use and sleep.

The consensus statement, titled “The Impact of Screen Use on Sleep Health Across the Lifespan: A Consensus Statement from the National Sleep Foundation,” is published in Sleep Health, the journal of the NSF . They evaluated studies on screen time and its effects on sleep, including research on children, adolescents and/or adults.

After extensive review of this extensive collection of studies over the course of a year, the committee reached consensus on a number of key points.

They agreed that: 1) In general, screen use harms the sleep health of children and adolescents; 2) The content of screen use before sleep impairs the sleep health of children and adolescents, and 3) Behavioral strategies and interventions can mitigate the negative health effects of screen use some sleep.

“After reviewing current literature, our panel reached consensus on the importance of reducing digital media before bed to improve sleep health, particularly for children and adolescents,” says Lauren Hale, PhD, chair of the consensus panel and professor of the program. of Public Health at Stony Brook University and the Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook. “We also identified gaps in the literature and the need for future research. »

The NSF provides recommendations for best practices to reduce the impact of screen use on sleep.

In summary, they suggest:

• Avoiding stimulating or upsetting content near bedtime
• Implement early, regular, relaxing bedtime routines without screens
• Set time limits around screen use, especially in the evenings and at night
• Parents talk to their children about the impact of technology and screen use on sleep
• Parents model appropriate screen use at night for their children

“The expert panel reviewed the available scientific evidence, paying particular attention to studies that examined whether, how and for whom screen use may negatively impact sleep health. We found that stimulating content from screen use, particularly at night, has a negative effect on sleep health in young people,” adds Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD, vice president of research and scientific affairs at the NSF.

Lauren Hale and three other co-authors of the consensus statement were from Stony Brook University: Gina Marie Mathew, Isaac Rodriguez, and librarian Jessica A. Koos, who helped identify original peer-reviewed research and journal reviews. literature published using databases, notably the National Library. PubMed from Medicine, EMBASE from Elsevier and Web of Science from Clarivate.

Insufficient sleep duration is both prevalent and associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Irregular sleep schedules are also associated with adverse health effects. For more information on sleep health, see this NSF webpage on sleep health topics.