Adolescents’ interactive electronic device use, sleep and mental health: a systematic review of prospective studies
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Optimal sleep, both in terms of duration and quality, is important for adolescent health. However, young people's sleeping habits have worsened over recent years. Access to and use of interactive electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, portable gaming devices) and social media have become deep‐rooted elements of adolescents’ lives and are associated with poor sleep. Additionally, there is evidence of increases in poor mental health and well‐being disorders in adolescents; further linked to poor sleep. This review aimed to summarise the longitudinal and experimental evidence of the impact of device use on adolescents’ sleep and subsequent mental health. Nine electronic bibliographical databases were searched for this narrative systematic review in October 2022. Of 5779 identified unique records, 28 studies were selected for inclusion. A total of 26 studies examined the direct link between device use and sleep outcomes, and four reported the indirect link between device use and mental health, with sleep as a mediator. The methodological quality of the studies was generally poor. Results demonstrated that adverse implications of device use (i.e., overuse, problematic use, telepressure, and cyber‐victimisation) impacted sleep quality and duration; however, relationships with other types of device use were unclear. A small but consistent body of evidence showed sleep mediates the relationship between device use and mental health and well‐being in adolescents. Increasing our understanding of the complexities of device use, sleep, and mental health in adolescents are important contributions to the development of future interventions and guidelines to prevent or increase resilience to cyber‐bullying and ensure adequate sleep.
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Most adolescents extend screen activity into the nighttime hours.
“However, this advice contrasts with screen behaviors observed globally,7 with most adolescents extending screen activity into the nighttime hours.3,8,9”
From Screen Use at Bedtime and Sleep Duration and Quality Among Youths (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
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Screen Use at Bedtime and Sleep Duration and Quality Among Youths
Brosnan, B., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Wickham, S.-R., Galland, B. C., & Taylor, R. W. (2024) · JAMA Pediatrics · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2914 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
- Authors
- Dibben, G. O., Martin, A., Shore, C. B., Johnstone, A., McMellon, C., Palmer, V., Pugmire, J., Riddell, J., Skivington, K., Wells, V., McDaid, L., & Simpson, S. A.
- Affiliations
- MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (GB)
- Current Health Edinburgh UK
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Dibben, Grace O.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Sleep Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-04-07
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e13899-e13899
- ISSN
- 0962-1105 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2869
- PMC
- PMC10909457
- OpenAlex
- W4362717079
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 36 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 4.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Sleep Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- St Andrews Research Repository (St Andrews Research Repository) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/1, MC_UU_00022/2, MC_UU_00022/3, MC_UU_00022/4, MC_UU_12017/11, MC_UU_12017/14, MC_UU_12017/15)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Keywords
- adolescents, sleep quality, sleep duration, mental health, well-being, smartphone use, social media use, telepressure, cyberbullying, cyber victimization
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Adolescent, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Mental Health, Prospective Studies, Sleep
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