Impact of Adolescents' Screen Time & Nocturnal Mobile Phone-Related Awakenings on Sleep & Health Symptoms

2019 · Harm · Moderate evidence

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HarmModerate evidencePaper 1879

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typecohort

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Impact of Adolescents' Screen Time & Nocturnal Mobile Phone-Related Awakenings on Sleep & Health Symptoms Foerster M, Henneke A, Chetty-Mhlanga S, Röösli M. Impact of adolescents' screen time and nocturnal mobile phone-related awakenings on sleep and general health symptoms: A prospective cohort study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Feb 12;16(3). pii: E518. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16030518. Abstract Nocturnal media use has been linked to adolescents' sleeping problems in cross-sectional studies which do not address reverse causality. To prospectively assess the new occurrence of sleep problems or health symptoms in relation to electronic media use and nocturnal mobile phone use, we used data from the longitudinal Swiss HERMES (Health Effects Related to Mobile phone usE in adolescentS) cohort on 843 children from 7th to 9th grade. Logistic regression models were fitted and adjusted for relevant confounders. Adolescents reporting at baseline and follow-up at least one nocturnal awakenings from their own mobile phone per month were more likely to have developed restless sleep (Odds Ratio (OR): 5.66, 95% Confidence Interval: 2.24⁻14.26) and problems falling asleep (3.51, 1.05⁻11.74) within one year compared to adolescents without nocturnal awakenings. A similar pattern was observed for developing symptoms, although somewhat less pronounced in terms of the magnitude of the odds ratios. With respect to high screen time at baseline and follow-up, associations were observed for falling asleep (2.41, 1.41⁻4.13), exhaustibility (1.76, 1.02⁻3.03), lack of energy (1.76, 1.04⁻2.96) and lack of concentration (2.90, 1.55⁻5.42). Our results suggest a detrimental effect of screen time and mobile phone-related awakenings on sleep problems and related health symptoms. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously with respect to adolescents' natural changes in circadian rhythm, which may coincidence with an increase in mobile phone and media use. Open access paper: mdpi.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecohort

Effect directionharm

PopulationAdolescents/children (Swiss HERMES cohort), 7th to 9th grade

Sample size843

Exposureat least one nocturnal awakening from own mobile phone per month (baseline and follow-up); high screen time at baseline and follow-up

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In this prospective Swiss cohort (n=843), adolescents reporting at least one nocturnal awakening from their own mobile phone per month at both baseline and follow-up had higher odds of developing restless sleep (OR 5.66, 95% CI 2.24–14.26) and problems falling asleep (OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.05–11.74) within one year versus those without nocturnal awakenings. High screen time at baseline and follow-up was associated with developing problems falling asleep (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.41–4.13), exhaustibility (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.02–3.03), lack of energy (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.04–2.96), and lack of concentration (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.55–5.42).

Outcomes measured

restless sleep
problems falling asleep
exhaustibility
lack of energy
lack of concentration
general health symptoms (unspecified)

Limitations

Prior evidence noted as cross-sectional; this study is prospective but reverse causality cannot be fully excluded from abstract alone
Authors caution interpretation due to adolescents' natural changes in circadian rhythm potentially coinciding with increased mobile phone/media use
Exposure definitions for 'high screen time' and symptom measures not specified in abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cohort",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "at least one nocturnal awakening from own mobile phone per month (baseline and follow-up); high screen time at baseline and follow-up"
  },
  "population": "Adolescents/children (Swiss HERMES cohort), 7th to 9th grade",
  "sample_size": 843,
  "outcomes": [
    "restless sleep",
    "problems falling asleep",
    "exhaustibility",
    "lack of energy",
    "lack of concentration",
    "general health symptoms (unspecified)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In this prospective Swiss cohort (n=843), adolescents reporting at least one nocturnal awakening from their own mobile phone per month at both baseline and follow-up had higher odds of developing restless sleep (OR 5.66, 95% CI 2.24–14.26) and problems falling asleep (OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.05–11.74) within one year versus those without nocturnal awakenings. High screen time at baseline and follow-up was associated with developing problems falling asleep (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.41–4.13), exhaustibility (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.02–3.03), lack of energy (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.04–2.96), and lack of concentration (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.55–5.42).",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Prior evidence noted as cross-sectional; this study is prospective but reverse causality cannot be fully excluded from abstract alone",
    "Authors caution interpretation due to adolescents' natural changes in circadian rhythm potentially coinciding with increased mobile phone/media use",
    "Exposure definitions for 'high screen time' and symptom measures not specified in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "adolescents",
    "screen time",
    "nocturnal awakenings",
    "mobile phone",
    "sleep problems",
    "health symptoms",
    "prospective cohort",
    "HERMES",
    "Switzerland"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Study concerns adolescents and electronic media use, but Wi‑Fi is not specifically mentioned."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16030518
PubMed: Not supplied

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