Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between daily screen time and sleep, evening screen time and sleep, and between social media addiction and sleep in a student population. This cross-sectional study is based on data from a national survey of all college and university students in Norway (the SHoT2018 study; n = 49,051). The sleep outcomes were sleep duration, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, and insomnia operationalized according to formal DSM-5 criteria. The results show a strong negative association between time spent on screen-based devices and sleep quality and quantity, and where screen use in bed had more consistent negative associations with sleep. Furthermore, there were higher rates of insomnia among those with higher levels of addiction, and curvilinear relationships with sleep duration, sleep onset latency, and sleep efficiency. Those with higher levels of addiction also had more evening screen time. The findings suggest that screen use plays an important role in students' sleep quantity and quality, where evening screen time has a stronger relationship with sleep compared to total daily screen time. The results also suggest a role of social media addiction, and addictive social media use may be a target for intervention in order to reduce evening screen time.
Highlights
Sleep problems are prevalent among students [1, 2]
Males had significantly longer mean total screen time, lower social media addiction, shorter sleep onset latency, higher sleep efficiency, and a lower proportion of insomnia compared to females
The results demonstrate a central role of social media addiction, with higher rates of insomnia among those with higher levels of self-reported addiction, and a curvilinear relationship with sleep duration, sleep onset latency, and sleep
Summary
Sleep problems are prevalent among students [1, 2]. A recent large-scale study of over 7,000 American university students found that only one third slept for more than 7 h each night [1], falling short of the recommended 7–9 h [3]. The extensive use of screenbased technology has been linked to poor sleep, where daily screen time is negatively associated with sleep quantity and quality [14]. This association may be driven by screen use around bedtime [13], which is common [15, 16]. A study of Norwegian students found that 76 % of the respondents used their mobile phone after going to bed, while only 5 % reported that they never used screen-based devices in bed [15]. While the use of screens during the day may be hard to limit due to school or work obligations, pre-sleep screen use may in many cases be a highly modifiable activity with the potential to significantly improve sleep
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