Public research record
The association of screen time and the risk of sleep outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025
- DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1640263
- PMID 41480345
- PMCID PMC12754674
Study snapshot
What this research can tell you
- What is this?
- An indexed scholarly work. The study design is not available in this public record.
- Who did it?
- He X, Pan B, Ma N, et al.
- What did they study?
- Population details are not available in this public record.
- How should I read it?
- FamilyPhD does not assign a strength rating without enough structured study detail.
What was found
The structured finding summary is not available. The study abstract is shown below.
Limitations
Structured limitations are not available in this public record. Absence here does not mean the study has no limitations.
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From the publication record
Study abstract
The abstract is publication text, not a FamilyPhD recommendation.
Methods
Two independent reviewers screened studies and extracted data following a pre-registered protocol. Standardized coefficients (β) and odds ratios (OR) were used to quantify effect sizes. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using STATA 17.0, with subgroup analyses performed to explore effect modifiers.
Results
We included 21 cohort studies with 548,338 participants. Each additional hour of daily screen time was associated with approximately 3 to 5 minutes shorter total sleep duration (β = -0.05, 95% CI: -0.08 to -0.03) in 11 studies reporting continuous outcomes, and with a higher risk of short sleep in nine studies reporting binary outcomes (OR = 1.25, 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.40). Subgroup analyses found no significant effect modification by age, region, short sleep definition or follow-up duration (all P interaction > 0.05). However, for binary outcomes, the association between screen time and short sleep differed significantly across countries (P interaction = 0.004). For other sleep outcomes, longer screen time was associated with increased risk of insomnia symptoms (β = 0.41, 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.63), delayed bedtime (13.2 minutes delay per hour of screen time), and difficulty initiating sleep (OR = 3.05; 95%CI: 1.51 to 6.24).
Conclusion
This systematic review demonstrates a robust association between increased screen time and adverse sleep outcomes, with adolescents showing particular vulnerability. These findings underscore the importance of screen time management in sleep health promotion and suggest the need for age-specific interventions. Future research should focus on establishing causal relationships and developing evidence-based guidelines for optimal screen use across different age groups. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023476130.
