Review ArticleElectronic media use and sleep in school-aged children and adolescents: A review
Section snippets
Literature search and inclusion criteria
To identify papers for this review, a literature search was performed using the PsycInfo and PubMed databases with a variety of search terms (e.g., “media AND sleep”; “computer AND sleep”). Articles were also identified from the reference lists of these papers. Included articles described original research studies that measured both an aspect of media use or ownership and an aspect of sleep. Articles were only included if they contained participants aged approximately 5–17 years and were
Bedroom media presence and sleep
According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2006 Sleep in America Poll, almost all American adolescents (97%) had at least one electronic media device in their bedroom [13]. These items included such things as music players (90%), televisions (57%), video game consoles (43%), mobile (42%) or fixed-line telephones (34%), computers (28%), and internet access (21%). Older adolescents had more media devices in their bedrooms than younger adolescents, with a median of two devices for 6th–8th
Television viewing and sleep
Television broadcasting began in the late 1930s in Britain and the early 1940s in America, followed later by countries such as Japan in 1953 and Australia in 1956 [22]. Following the Second World War, television experienced a popularity “boom” in the 1950s and 1960s as televisions became more affordable, but even then, key stations only broadcasted for several hours per day [22], [23]. Television viewing became more flexible from the 1980s, with the introduction of video cassette recorders, and
Use of computer or electronic games and sleep
Computer and electronic games were introduced to the public in the early 1970s; however, their popularity surged in the late 1980s and 1990s with the rapid progression of gaming technology and several major video gaming companies competing for prominence [23]. In the 2000s, while the use of computer game software declined considerably (as more games were produced solely for gaming consoles), internet gaming surged in popularity as more individuals gained access to this technology [23]. For
Mobile telephone use and sleep
Since first being tested in the late 1970s, mobile telephone technology has developed rapidly [23]. Telephones are now not only used for making and receiving calls, but also for text-messaging (introduced in the early 1990s) [23], accessing the internet (introduced in the early 2000s) [23], playing games, listening to music, and storing other personal information (e.g., calendar). Due to the rapid development of technology in this area, it should be noted that studies performed on mobile phone
Music and sleep
Surprisingly, the effect of music on the sleep of children and adolescents has rarely been studied, despite the fact that electronic transmission of music has followed a similar developmental timeline to that of television. FM radio transmission began in the 1960s, with audio cassettes and compact discs developed in the 1980s, followed later by portable MP3 players in the late 1990s [23].
A recent study found that 42% of American adolescents reported listening to music on an MP3 player after 9
Study limitations
The research studies reviewed here are plagued by a number of limitations. The first limitation is that only three experimental studies were found [36], [47], [52]. Instead, most report on cross-sectional correlational studies, which means that causal direction is difficult to ascertain. It is possible that children and adolescents who use technology in the evening do so because they do not need as much sleep as their peers or because they already have a delayed sleep pattern and cannot fall
Possible mechanisms
A number of mechanisms have been proposed by which media use might impact sleep quality or quantity. First, media use may directly displace sleep or other activities related to good sleep hygiene (such as physical activity). Second, media use in the evenings may cause children to become physiologically aroused, making it more difficult for them to relax prior to bedtime. A number of studies have found increases in physiological arousal associated with playing computer games [47], [59], [60],
Conclusions
Despite the aforementioned limitations, it appears that the use of electronic media by children and adolescents does have a negative impact on their sleep, although the precise effects and mechanisms remain unclear. Across different media types, the most consistent results have been obtained regarding delayed bedtime and shorter total sleep time associated with excessive media use. In future research, it would be good to develop and test a model of the mechanisms by which media use affects
Research priorities
It is recommended that future research should concentrate on the following areas:
- 1.
Using experimental methods to better establish causal links between electronic media use and sleep.
- 2.
Including the latest technologies (e.g., portable electronic devices) in future studies.
- 3.
Assessing the statistical and clinical significance of research findings that relate to measures of sleep quality, sleep quantity, and sleep timing.
- 4.
Attempting to test the mechanisms involved in the relationships between electronic
Financial support
N/A.
Conflicts of interest
Nil.
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