Technology use as a sleep-onset aid: are adolescents using apps to distract themselves from negative thoughts?

Alexandra Daniels, Meg Pillion, Benita Rullo, Jessica Mikulcic, Hannah Whittall, Kate Bartel, Michal Kahn, Michael Gradisar, Serena V. Bauducco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)
61 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Study Objectives: The aim of this study was to; (1) explore whether adolescents use technology as distraction from negative thoughts before sleep, (2) assess whether adolescents who perceive having a sleep problem use technology as distraction more compared to adolescents without sleep complaints, and (3) collect qualitative information about which devices and apps adolescents use as a distraction. 

Methods: This study used a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, where 684 adolescents (M = 15.1, SD = 1.2, 46% female) answered both quantitative and qualitative questions about their sleep (perceived sleep problem, sleep onset time (SOT), and sleep onset latency [SOL]) and technology use as distraction from negative thoughts. 

Results: The majority of adolescents answered “yes” or “sometimes” using technology as a distraction from negative thoughts (23.6% and 38.4%). Adolescents who answered “yes” to using technology as distraction were more likely to report having a sleep problem, longer SOL, and later SOT, compared to adolescents who answered “no”. The most popular device to distract was the phone, because of its availability, and the most common apps used for distraction included YouTube, Snapchat, and music apps. 

Conclusions: This study shows that many adolescents use technology to distract themselves from negative thoughts, which may help them manage the sleep-onset process. Thus, distraction may be one mechanism explaining how sleep affects technology use, rather than vice versa.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberzpac047
Number of pages7
JournalSleep Advances
Volume4
Issue number1
Early online date22 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • sleep aid
  • sleep disturbances
  • sleep onset
  • smartphones
  • teenagers

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