Household rules on use of electronics have uncertain benefit on teens’ sleep

While household rules regarding adolescents’ use of devices and technology are common, their impact on bedtime appears to be mixed, suggesting the need for further investigation, a recent study has found. Nevertheless, many adolescents report having inadequate sleep.

“A significant proportion of adolescents in this sample report inadequate sleep duration,” the researchers said. “This variability, combined with prior evidence linking night-time technology use with adolescent sleep disruption, suggests that providers should continue to thoroughly assess and counsel adolescent patients and families about technology use.”

The study included 880 adolescents aged 12–17 years who had completed the California Health Interview Survey. The survey collected information about technology rules at home, such as times to turn off or put away electronics or designated bedtimes and rise times during schooldays.

Seventy-two percent of participants said they did have such rules at home. The rate at which these rules were implemented did not differ across socioeconomic, ethnic, and family composition subgroups.

Nevertheless, inadequate sleep was still common, with 38.5 percent of participants reporting overall time in bed below the minimum recommendations of the National Sleep Foundation. Of note, nearly half (45.78 percent) of all girls fell short of this standard. The mean bedtime in the overall sample was 22:02 and participants logged an average time in bed of 8 hours and 17 minutes.

Bivariate analysis found that having technology-use rules correlated with a significantly earlier bedtime by 33 minutes (p<0.05), but this interaction was attenuated in multivariable analysis. Such rules had no impact on total time in bed.