April 9, 2025, 12:09 pm | Read time: 7 minutes
Do you find it difficult to fall asleep at night? Your screen time might not be entirely innocent. If you reach for your tablet or smartphone in bed at night, you are likely to sleep less and worse, according to a Norwegian study. And the scientists suspect that social media could have a particularly negative influence. FITBOOK editor Sophie Brünke presents the research results.
Whether it’s Netflix, social media, or gaming — many young adults still use their smartphones and other devices in bed at night. But how exactly does this habit affect sleep — and does the type of screen activity play a role? A new Norwegian study with over 45,000 students provides some surprising answers. What is special: For the first time, the study differentiates exactly which screen activity in bed is associated with which influence on sleep — and dispels some myths in the process.
Overview of the Study
What Was Studied and Why?
Increasing sleep deprivation among young adults is a growing health problem. At the same time, evening screen use in bed is almost ubiquitous: according to a 2023 study from Cairo, this usage rate among young adults is 96.5 percent.1 Previous studies have shown a link between screen time and poor sleep, but they are rarely differentiated by type of activity. Social media, in particular, is often classified as particularly harmful to sleep, for example, due to the constant notifications and arousal of emotions.
The current study’s aim was to systematically investigate how the type of evening screen activity in bed — especially social media versus other activities — affects sleep duration and symptoms of insomnia. Is social media, in particular, especially bad for sleep, or is screen time as a whole crucial?2 Dr. Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland, lead author of the study, revealed in a press release that the research team had a clear bias beforehand regarding the answer to this question: “We expected that social media use might be more strongly associated with poorer sleep due to its interactive nature and potential for emotional stimulation.”3
How Does Germany Sleep?
The health insurance company Pronova BKK conducted a representative survey of 2,000 adults in Germany. The results of the 2024 sleep study show that Germans only sleep an average of seven hours a night — even though the optimal amount of sleep for around two-thirds of Germans is eight hours or more. And it is not only in terms of duration that the quality of sleep lags behind. A total of 63 percent of those surveyed stated that their sleep was disturbed three or more nights a week. In addition, one in two people like to watch TV before going to sleep — in other words, they watch a screen.4
This Is How the Scientists Proceeded
The study is based on the SHOT2022 survey (Students’ Health and Wellbeing Study), a nationwide cross-sectional study of students aged 18 to 28 in Norway. Data from 45,202 full-time students was evaluated for the analysis. The central question: How is average night-time screen time in bed (measured in minutes per week) related to sleep duration and insomnia symptoms?
The participants were divided into three groups:
- Group 1: social media users only
- Group 2: social media plus other activities (e.g., series, surfing)
- Group 3: users without social media
The data was based on self-reporting. The statistical analysis took into account the influences of age and gender. Insomnia symptoms were diagnosed according to the DSM-5 criteria, a classification system for mental disorders (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Subjects, therefore, exhibited symptoms of insomnia if they:
- had difficulty falling asleep or sleeping through the night at least three nights a week,
- woke up early in the morning at least three days a week,
- were sleepy or tired during the day on at least three days a week, and
- the sleep problems persisted for at least three months
One Hour of Screen Time Before Bed Shortens Sleep by 24 Minutes
Unsurprisingly, the results of the study show that evening screen time in bed and sleep problems are linked. However, the extent of this is remarkable: for every additional hour of screen time after going to bed, the probability of insomnia increased by an impressive 59 percent. At the same time, the average duration of sleep was reduced by 24 minutes.
All-Clear for Social Media Users
The correlation applies regardless of the type of screen activity — whether social media, series, or other activities. Interestingly, however, there was a difference between the user groups: People who used social media exclusively were less likely to report insomnia (lowest rate among all groups) and slept longer on average. In contrast, those who reported no social media activity had the highest rates of insomnia and the shortest sleep duration. The group that combined social media with other activities was between these two extremes. There was also a 24 percent lower risk of insomnia compared to students who did not use screens in bed at all — but no significant difference in sleep duration.
Dr. Johnsen Hjetland concludes: “We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities. This suggests that screen use itself is the main factor for insomnia — probably due to the time lag delaying sleep as it takes up time that would otherwise be used for rest.”
Significance of the Results
The study shows that what you do on the screen is less important than how long you do it. The results suggest that sleep problems are caused by the screen time itself, for example, by delaying bedtime (“displacement”), and less by the specific content or arousal of emotions. The hypothesis that social media is particularly harmful to sleep could not be confirmed in this form. Instead, exclusive social media consumption in bed even appears to be associated with better sleep values. The authors cite the possible explanation that the exclusive use of social media signals a preference for social contacts, which could reflect membership in a social network, which in turn could protect against poor sleep.
It is important to emphasize that the study does not allow any statements on causality. It could, therefore, also be that poor sleep leads to increased screen use — not the other way around. Nevertheless, the findings provide important information for future recommendations in the area of sleep hygiene and media use.
Classification of the Study
With its high number of participants, the study is one of the largest studies to date on the topic of “screen use and sleep” in the young adult age group. One special feature is the differentiated analysis according to activity type — until now, only total usage times have usually been examined. The focus on students is also relevant, as this group suffers particularly frequently from sleep problems.
However, the survey is a cross-sectional study: as all data was collected at a single point in time, no cause-and-effect relationship can be established. In addition, the data is based on self-reporting, which is prone to error. Especially as no additional objective measurement methods, such as actigraphy or sleep diaries, were used. The categorization of screen activities was also relatively crude — for example, no distinction was made between different social media platforms or content.
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Conclusion
More screen time in bed is associated with shorter sleep and an increased risk of insomnia — regardless of whether you use social media or consume other digital content. Contrary to common assumptions, social media was not more harmful than other screen activities. On the contrary, students who only used social media reported fewer sleep problems. Therefore, to achieve better sleep hygiene, reducing overall screen time in bed seems to make more sense than avoiding individual content.
Dr. Hjetland recommends: “If you have sleep problems and suspect that screen time may be a factor, try to reduce screen time in bed, ideally at least 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. If you do use screens, turn off notifications to minimize disturbances during the night.”