If you’re glued to your phone before bed, it might be time to rethink that habit
A new study has revealed just how bad it is for your health to scroll on your phone late at night before bed.
Phones have become part of our everyday lives, and honestly, it can be tough to know when to just put them down and take a break.
Many of us keep our phones within reach 24/7 and check them constantly, sometimes without even thinking about it.
But research out of Norway now shows that those nighttime phone habits might be doing more harm than you realize.
If you’ve been scrolling through posts, articles, or TikToks long after climbing into bed, it might be time to start winding down earlier.
A survey of 45,202 young adults in Norway found that using any kind of screen while in bed raised the risk of developing insomnia by 59%.
On top of that, it also shaved off an average of 24 minutes from their total sleep time.
Interestingly, the study found that it wasn’t just social media causing the problem. Any kind of screen time in bed seemed to be the real issue.
Dr Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland, who led the study at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, shared more insight in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
She said: “The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed.”
“We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption — likely due to time displacement, where screen use delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting.”
A press release from the research team explained a few of the ways screens can mess with your ability to sleep properly. It stated: “Notifications disturb sleep, screen time replaces sleeping time, screen activities keep you wakeful so you take longer to fall asleep, or light exposure delays circadian rhythms.”
While the conclusions may not be shocking, it’s definitely reassuring to have scientific evidence backing what many of us already suspected about screens and sleep.
Dr. Hjetland also pointed out that this isn’t just something young people should be concerned about. Adults, too, are seeing their sleep patterns affected by screen time at night.
He added: “Sleep problems are highly prevalent among students and have significant implications for mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being, but previous studies have primarily focused on adolescents.”
“Given the widespread use of screens in bed we aimed to explore the relationship between different screen activities and sleep patterns. We expected that social media use might be more strongly associated with poorer sleep, given its interactive nature and potential for emotional stimulation.”
