Does screen time before bed affect sleep?

How screen time affects your sleep

If you have ever wondered, “does screen time before bed affect sleep,” you are not alone. Most people wind down with a phone, laptop, or TV, and it can feel harmless. Research tells a different story. Using screens in the hour or two before bedtime can delay when you fall asleep, reduce sleep quality, and leave you groggy the next day.

Scientists point to two main reasons: the blue light coming from your devices and the mental stimulation from whatever you are watching or doing. Together, they make it harder for your brain and body to switch into sleep mode.

What blue light does to your body

Screens on phones, tablets, computers, and TVs emit bright blue light. Your eyes are especially sensitive to this kind of light in the evening.

Blue light:

• Signals your brain that it is still daytime
• Suppresses melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy
• Delays your internal body clock, also known as your circadian rhythm

The Sleep Foundation explains that blue light from electronic devices and LED lighting reduces or delays melatonin production and makes you feel less sleepy at night, which disrupts your natural sleep wake cycle (Sleep Foundation). Evening exposure can also reduce deep slow wave sleep and REM sleep, two stages that are important for memory, learning, and next day focus.

The National Sleep Foundation notes that blue light within about two hours of bedtime can confuse your brain into thinking it is still earlier in the day, which delays the release of melatonin and interferes with normal circadian rhythms (National Sleep Foundation).

In simple terms, bright screens at night keep your brain in “day mode” when you are trying to shift into “night mode.”

How evening screen time changes your sleep

Multiple studies have looked at whether screen time before bed affects sleep, and the pattern is consistent. More screen use in the evening is linked to:

• Taking longer to fall asleep
• Sleeping for fewer total hours
• Waking up more at night
• Feeling more tired during the day

Sutter Health reports that more than half of Americans regularly use an electronic device in the hour before bed, and that this habit can harm sleep quality, especially when screen time reaches two or more hours in the evening. In those cases, the melatonin surge needed to fall asleep is significantly disrupted. Experts there recommend turning off electronic devices at least one hour before bedtime (Sutter Health).

A 2021 study that tracked smartphone use among medical students found that higher total screen time was associated with worse sleep quality. Students with poor sleep averaged more phone use than those who slept well, and screen time explained a meaningful portion of the difference in their sleep scores (PMC). The researchers highlighted blue light and melatonin disruption as key reasons.

Children and teenagers appear to be even more sensitive. A review of over 60 studies found that screen time before bed is consistently associated with:

• Later bedtimes
• Shorter total sleep
• More sleep difficulties

Evening media use in the bedroom, especially 1 to 2 hours before bedtime, was linked to the strongest negative effects (PMC – National Institutes of Health).

Why content and engagement matter

The kind of screen time you have before bed matters as much as the light itself. It is not just the blue light that keeps you up, it is also what you are doing.

According to neurologist Dr. Joanna Cooper, activities such as texting, watching TV shows, or playing video games at night can increase brain stimulation and adrenaline, which makes it harder to calm down and fall asleep (Sutter Health).

Interactive, emotionally charged, or fast paced content can:

• Raise your heart rate
• Keep your mind racing
• Trigger stress or excitement
• Make it tough to “switch off” once you put the device down

Research in youth has shown that stimulating screen content, including violent video games before bedtime, can delay sleep onset and reduce REM sleep (PMC – National Institutes of Health).

You might notice this in your own life. You scroll social media, answer one last email, or binge “just one more” episode, and suddenly you feel wired instead of sleepy.

How much nighttime screen time is too much

There is no single cut and dried number that applies to everyone, but research offers some helpful guidelines.

• Two or more hours of evening screen time can significantly disrupt the melatonin surge you need to fall asleep, according to data summarized by Sutter Health (Sutter Health).
• Studies in youth suggest that more than two hours of screen time per day is associated with higher odds of poor sleep quality and sleep difficulties (PMC).
• The National Sleep Foundation reports that 58 percent of Americans look at screens within an hour of bedtime, a habit that is concerning for sleep health (National Sleep Foundation).

You do not have to eliminate screens completely, but it helps to be especially cautious during the 1 to 2 hours right before you want to sleep.

How nighttime screens affect kids and teens

If you are a parent, it is natural to ask how screen time before bed affects your child’s sleep. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to evening blue light.

Research shows that:

• Evening light from screens suppresses melatonin, increases alertness, and delays sleep onset in children and teens, with younger children showing greater melatonin suppression than adults (PMC – National Institutes of Health).
• Using portable screen devices at bedtime is associated with higher odds of short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and excessive daytime sleepiness in youth (PMC – National Institutes of Health).
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping electronics out of children’s and teenagers’ bedrooms and suggests charging stations outside the bedroom to avoid late night gaming or texting (Sutter Health).

The Sleep Foundation also notes that children experience more pronounced sleep problems when they use electronic devices before bed, including longer time to fall asleep and greater daytime tiredness (Sleep Foundation).

A simple way to protect your child’s sleep is to make bedrooms as screen free as possible and to create a calm, predictable wind down routine.

What happens when you cut back

The good news is that small changes in your nighttime screen habits can lead to noticeable improvements in sleep.

In a randomized trial with college students, limiting mobile phone use for the 30 minutes before bedtime for four weeks:

• Reduced the time it took to fall asleep by about 12 minutes
• Increased total sleep duration by about 18 minutes
• Lowered physical and mental pre sleep arousal
• Improved mood and working memory performance (PLOS ONE)

Other interventions that restrict screen use in the hour before bed in adolescents have been shown to move bedtime earlier by around 17 minutes and increase total sleep time by roughly 19 minutes per night, although sticking with strict routines can be challenging (PMC – National Institutes of Health).

Even modest improvements like these can add up over weeks and months, especially if you already feel short on sleep.

Practical ways to improve your pre‑bed routine

You do not have to overhaul your entire evening to benefit. Try layering a few realistic habits that fit into your life.

1. Set a screen curfew

Aim to turn off or put away bright screens at least 30 to 60 minutes before your planned bedtime. If you can extend this to 90 minutes, even better.

A simple approach:

1. Pick your target “lights out” time.
2. Set an alarm or reminder 60 minutes before as your “screens off” signal.
3. Use that final hour for low light, calming activities.

2. Use blue light protections wisely

If you need or want to use devices in the evening, take advantage of built in tools and simple accessories.

Options include:

• Night mode or “warm” display settings on phones, tablets, and laptops
• Blue light filter apps on some devices
• Amber or blue light blocking glasses in the evening

The Sleep Foundation notes that reducing or turning off electronic devices and bright LED lighting after dark is the most effective approach, but blue light blocking glasses may help reduce melatonin suppression when screens are unavoidable (Sleep Foundation).

These tools are not a free pass to scroll at midnight, but they can lessen the impact if you occasionally use screens later than planned.

3. Dim and warm your evening lighting

Your room’s lighting matters as much as your devices. Bright overhead lights in the evening can also delay melatonin.

The Sleep Foundation reports that bright bedroom lighting can delay nocturnal melatonin production by up to 90 minutes compared to dim lighting. In contrast, dim light in red, yellow, or orange hues has little to no effect on circadian rhythm and is better suited for nighttime reading (Sleep Foundation).

You can try:

• Turning off overhead lights after dinner and using small lamps instead
• Using warm colored bulbs in bedside lamps
• Keeping light levels low in the hour before bed

4. Swap screens for calming activities

If you are used to ending your day with your phone or a show, it helps to have ready to go alternatives so you still feel relaxed and entertained.

Screen free ideas:

• Read a physical book or magazine
• Listen to soothing music or a calming podcast
• Stretch gently or do a brief yoga routine
• Journal about your day or make a plan for tomorrow
• Practice deep breathing or a short guided relaxation

Keep your chosen activity simple and repeatable. The goal is to help your brain associate this routine with winding down for sleep.

5. Make your bedroom a low tech zone

Your sleep environment should support rest, not constant alerts and notifications.

You might:

• Charge your phone outside the bedroom or across the room
• Remove TVs, tablets, and laptops from the bed area
• Switch your phone to “Do Not Disturb” or airplane mode overnight
• Use a standalone alarm clock instead of your phone

The National Sleep Foundation encourages creating a screen free sleep environment by removing TVs, tablets, and laptops from the bedroom and avoiding phone use in bed. This can reduce sleep disruptions from alerts and light exposure and help preserve precious sleep time (National Sleep Foundation).

6. Pay attention to how you feel

Everyone’s sensitivity to nighttime screen time is a little different. Notice your own patterns.

You can ask yourself:

• How long does it usually take you to fall asleep after using screens late?
• Do you feel more rested on nights when you unplug earlier?
• Are there particular activities, like intense games or emotional shows, that leave you wired?

Consider tracking your sleep for a week with and without late screen use. Even a simple note in a journal can help you see connections that are easy to miss in daily life.

When to consider extra support

If you have already tried cutting back on screen time before bed and your sleep is still consistently poor, you may want to talk with a healthcare provider.

It is especially worth seeking help if you:

• Take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep most nights
• Wake up frequently and struggle to go back to sleep
• Feel very sleepy during the day or rely heavily on caffeine
• Snore loudly, gasp, or stop breathing at night according to a bed partner
• Experience long term mood changes such as lasting sadness or anxiety

Researchers have noted that chronic disruption of circadian rhythms from nighttime light and screens can contribute to broader health issues, including metabolic problems and some mental health conditions, particularly when poor sleep continues over time (Sleep Foundation).

A clinician can help you sort out whether screen time is the main issue, or whether other sleep disorders or medical conditions are playing a role.

Key takeaways

• Yes, screen time before bed affects sleep. Blue light and mental stimulation from devices delay melatonin, push back your body clock, and make it harder to fall and stay asleep.
• Two hours or more of evening screens, especially in the hour before bed, are linked with poorer sleep quality in both adults and youth.
• Children and teens are particularly sensitive to nighttime blue light, so keeping devices out of bedrooms and limiting pre bed screen use can protect their sleep.
• Cutting back on screens 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime, dimming and warming your lighting, and choosing calming, screen free activities can improve both how quickly you fall asleep and how rested you feel.

You do not have to be perfect every night. Start with one small change, such as setting a phone curfew or moving your charger out of the bedroom, and notice how your sleep and energy shift over the next week.

About the Author

BodyBalanceQuest.com

Administrator

Visit Website View All Posts