Impact of Electronic Device Usage Before Bedtime on Sleep and Attention in Adolescents

ABSTRACT Excessive usage of electronic devices delays bedtime and increases nighttime arousal, reducing sleep duration of adolescents in the morning shift. The impacts of media use before bedtime (MBB) on sleep patterns and components of morning attention were evaluated in 89 adolescents (15.8 ± 0.8 years) using sleep questionnaires and a continuous performance task. Multivariate multiple regression analysis was used to examine relationships of MBB, chronotype, and gender with sleep and attention. Smartphones were found to be the most frequently used device before bedtime. Attention components were found to be significantly associated with MBB, with a higher frequency of MBB predicting slower reaction times for tonic and phasic alertness and less stable performance of sustained attention. Media usage before bedtime was not significantly associated with patterns of sleep nor sleep quality. This study showed negative impacts of MBB on most components of morning attention, potentially leading to compromised learning in adolescents. Lay : We investigated the influence of usage of electronic devices before bedtime at night on sleep patterns and attention of adolescents attending school in the morning. The results show that smartphones are the most frequently used device. The usage of electronics was associated with worse attentional performance, but not with sleep patterns. The findings indicate negative impacts of usage of electronic media use before bedtime on components of attention in the morning, potentially leading to compromised learning in adolescents.