Screen and nonscreen sedentary behavior and sleep in adolescents

This study examined the associations between screen (computer, videogame, TV) and nonscreen (talking on the phone, doing homework, reading) sedentary time, and sleep in adolescents.

Data were drawn from AdoQuest, a prospective investigation of 1843 grade 5 students aged 10-12 years at inception in the greater Montreal (Canada) area.

Data for this cross-sectional analysis on screen and nonscreen sedentary time, sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness were collected in 2008-2009 from 1233 participants (67% of 1843) aged 14-16 years.

Computer and videogame use >2 hours per day was associated with 17 and 11 fewer minutes of sleep per night, respectively. Computer use and talking on the phone were both associated with being a short sleeper (<8 hour per night) (odds ratio =2.2 [1.4-3.4] and 3.0 [1.5-6.2], respectively), whereas TV time was protective (odds ratio=0.5 [0.3-0.8]). Participants who reported >2 hours of computer use or talking on the phone per day had higher daytime sleepiness scores (11.9 and 13.9, respectively) than participants who reported d2 hours per day (9.7 and 10.3, respectively).

Computer use and time spent talking on the phone are associated with short sleep and more daytime sleepiness in adolescents. Videogame time is also associated with less sleep. Clinicians, parents, and adolescents should be made aware that sedentary behavior and especially screen-related sedentary behavior may affect sleep duration negatively and is possibly associated with daytime sleepiness.