HealthDay (4/3, Thompson ) reports a study found that “teenagers who spend more time on screens tend to get worse sleep, both in terms of sleep quality and duration.” While screen time “caused teens to put off sleep until later hours, affecting their wake/sleep cycles,” sleep disturbances are only linked to “later depression symptoms in girls,” but not boys. Specifically, “depression symptoms among girls were more than twice those of boys, a gender difference that’s been found in earlier studies, researchers reported. Results also showed that 38% to 57% of girls’ depression symptoms could be explained by changes in sleep patterns driven by screen use.” Researchers concluded, “The public health recommendation to promote sleep by means of changing screen-related behaviors is…supported by this study.” The study was published in PLOS Global Public Health.
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— “Screen Time Linked To Poor Sleep, Depression Among Teen Girls,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 3, 2025