Adolescent Sleep and the Impact of Technology Use Before Sleep on Daytime Function

Technology has become pervasive in our culture, particularly among adolescents. The purpose of this study is to examine associations between use of technology before sleep and daytime function in adolescents.

This study is a secondary analysis of respondents aged 13 to 21 years (N = 259) from the 2011 National Sleep Foundation's Sleep in America Poll. The survey included questions on demographics, sleep habits, and use of technology in the hour before bedtime. Daytime sleepiness was assessed with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Student's t-tests, Mann-Whitney U, and Fischer's exact tests were performed to detect differences in demographics, sleep duration, and technology use in the total sample, and between respondents with "adequate" compared to "inadequate" sleep. Correlations were calculated between technology frequency and daytime function.

Adolescents had mean sleep duration of 7.3 ± 1.3 h. Almost all respondents (97%) used some form of technology before sleep. Increased technology use and the frequency of being awoken in the night by a cell phone were significantly associated with waking too early, waking unrefreshed, and daytime sleepiness (p < 0.05). Adolescents who reported "inadequate" sleep had shorter sleep duration, greater frequency of technology use before bedtime, feeling unrefreshed on waking, and greater daytime sleepiness than those reporting "adequate" sleep (all p-values < 0.05).

Technology use before sleep by adolescents had negative consequences on nighttime sleep and on daytime function.

Healthcare professionals who interact with adolescents should encourage technology to be curtailed before bedtime and for adolescents to value obtaining adequate sleep.