A new study has revealed that spending just an hour on your phone or other screens while in bed can significantly disrupt your sleep — increasing the risk of insomnia by 59% and cutting sleep time by around 24 minutes.
Researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health analyzed data from over 45,000 young adults aged 18 to 28 and found that screen use before sleep was consistently linked to lower sleep quality, regardless of what type of content was viewed.
“The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed,” said lead researcher Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland. “We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption — likely due to time displacement, where screen use delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting.”
The findings, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, add to the growing body of research highlighting how digital habits can interfere with rest, especially among young adults and teens.
Insufficient sleep isn’t just about feeling tired — it’s linked to problems with focus, memory, and mood. People who don’t get enough rest are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, and their cognitive performance — including test scores — tends to suffer.
Sleep experts recommend aiming for 7 to 9 hours of rest each night and caution against relying on blue-light filters or apps as a fix. In fact, brightness and exposure time play a bigger role than blue light itself.
“If you struggle with sleep and suspect that screen time may be a factor, try to reduce screen use in bed, ideally stopping at least 30 to 60 minutes before sleep. If you do use screens, consider disabling notifications to minimize disruptions during the night,” Hjetland advised.
Instead of scrolling, experts suggest winding down with a book or using a non-backlit e-reader to help your brain ease into sleep mode — without the glow of the internet keeping you awake.
