Screen use before sleep amplifies emotional issues in teens.
- Young people who stare at their screens too much before falling asleep have more emotional problems.
- These emotional problems in young people are caused by a disruption of the biological clock.
- In France, 13-19 year olds have an average of 3 personal screens and spend 18 hours a week on them.
A recent study shows that the use of screens before sleep amplifies emotional problems (anxiety, sadness, anger, etc.) in adolescents.
Screens and sleep: two independent surveys
To reach this conclusion, the researchers focused on two factors: chronotype (or synchronization of a person’s biological clock) and jet lag (or misalignment between biological and social rhythms).
The scientists collected data from two independent surveys of Chinese high school students, involving a total of 2,685 and 1,368 teenagers respectively. The young people filled in their medical and social information via questionnaires.
Limit screen use before sleep
After analyzing the data, the team found that teens who used screens before sleeping tended to have a later chronotype and experience more jet lag. Both of these factors have been linked to an increase in emotional problems.
These findings underscore the importance of limiting pre-sleep screen use in adolescents. It is also recommended to make young people and their parents aware of the negative impact of excessive screen use before sleeping. “Intervention strategies targeting circadian characteristics should also be developed to preserve emotional health in the adolescent population,” complete the researchers.
18 hours of screen time per week for ages 13 and up
In France, 13-19 year olds have an average of 3 personal screens compared to 1.6 among 7-12 year olds. The smartphone is the fetish terminal of teenagers (90% of equipment).
The Internet has become their No. 1 medium for watching videos, chatting with loved ones, listening to music or playing video games. Young French people go there:
– 6 hours per week for children under 6 years old.
– 9 hours per week for 7-12 year olds.
– Nearly 18 hours per week for ages 13 and up.
