Gender moderates the relationship between media use and sleep quality

With high screen time and poor sleep commonly reported in adolescents, it is important to more fully understand how screen time impacts sleep. Despite similar overall screen times, male and female media preferences and usages differ, making it critical to determine if different domains of screen time differentially affect sleep quality. The present study examined whether differing amounts and domains of screen-based media vary in impact on sleep quality of 16-year-old male and female adolescents over a 3-month period. A total of 98 adolescents (mean [SD] age 16.27 [0.29] years; 51% female) completed two online surveys spaced 3 months apart and comprised of well-validated self-reported measures of sleep quality, media usage, and depressive symptoms. The various domains of media were categorised into screen-based media with little-to-no peer-to-peer interaction involved (video-only) and screen-based media with interaction a predominant component to the usage (peer-to-peer interaction-involved). Self-reported sleep quality decreased across the 3-month study period. Gender moderated the effect of interactive screen time on sleep quality 3 months later, with interactive screen time associated with better sleep quality in males, but remaining poorer in females. Screen time competes with sleep time and may do so differentially depending on the media domain. Compared to females, interactive components of screen time may lessen worsening sleep quality over time in males. Understanding the relationships among screen time, its content, age, and gender may inform guidelines for educators, parents, and adolescents to help improve sleep quality of adolescents.