There's a lot of debate today about how screens may affect sleep, and it's a topic that often raises concerns in families. Questions like these are common: "How does this affect my child?", "How worried should I be?", "What can I do at home?"
At the same time, it's not always easy to pinpoint the problem. Using the phone at night has become fairly common, and it's not always clear how much it influences rest or when it starts to make a real difference.
Below, we'll go through what has been observed about this relationship and which aspects can help support routines and screen use habits at home.
Sleep in adolescenceBefore talking about the impact of screens, it's important to keep in mind a process that naturally appears in adolescence. At this age, sleep timing tends to shift naturally toward later hours. This is related to changes in circadian rhythms (the body's "internal clock"), which begin to signal nighttime later than they did in childhood. In practice, this means that sleep arrives later.In this context, it's expected that sleep schedules shift, or that many teens find it hard to go to bed earlier, and this isn't necessarily a problem nor is it explained by screen use.That said, this doesn't mean there aren't factors that can disrupt sleep in teens. In fact, rest can be influenced by different aspects of daily life, such as worries, stress, changes in emotional state, irregular bedtimes, or certain screen use habits.
How do screens influence sleep?Many studies analyzing sleep in young people show that screen use is associated with going to sleep later and, in some cases, with sleeping less or resting more poorly. However, this relationship isn't always direct, nor does it happen the same way in every case.
On one hand, some experts point out that the relationship can go both ways. That is, not only can screen use influence sleep, but it's also common for use to increase when there are already difficulties sleeping, such as during times of stress, anxiety, or when it's hard to fall asleep. In these cases, the screen can end up functioning as a way to pass time or distract oneself, while at the same time contributing to delaying or making rest more irregular.
On the other hand, there are some other mechanisms that help us understand this relationship. One has to do with the light emitted by devices, which can slightly delay the body's sleep signals, especially when use happens close to bedtime. Another has to do with the type of use: when the content is entertaining or highly stimulating, it's harder to stop, and that can make the end of the day stretch longer than planned.
In this sense, not all screen use influences sleep in the same way. Use close to bedtime is most associated with sleep disturbances, compared to use during the day, and more interactive uses (such as social media, games, or conversations) tend to be associated with greater difficulty disconnecting.
Signs that sleep could be affectedSome signs that may indicate sleep isn't enough or isn't restorative are:difficulty getting up in the morningtiredness or sleepiness during the dayincreased irritability or mood swingsdifficulty concentrating or sustaining attentiona sense of having taken a long time to fall asleepThese signs aren't always due to screen use, but they can be a starting point for taking a closer look at what's happening with rest.
What you can do to support your child at homeWhen thinking about screen use, it can be helpful to focus on when and how screens are used, especially toward the end of the day.Since use close to bedtime is most associated with difficulty falling asleep, it can help to create a space for disconnection before bed, so that the transition into rest isn't directly tied to using the phone.
Some ideas that can work in practice:
Screens are one of the factors that can influence sleep, but not the only one. If you notice that your child is having difficulty sleeping, it can be useful to consider this aspect along with others that may also be playing a role, such as worries, stress, or changes in emotional state.
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Sleep is an important pillar of adolescent development. Caring for it is a concrete way of caring for their physical and mental health.
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