Congratulations to former HALO undergraduate thesis student Annie Thottan and Drs. Nicholas Kuzik, Travis Saunders and Mark Tremblay, on their recent publication “Cross-sectional examination of internet addiction and sleep outcomes in U.S. children and adolescents” recently published in Sleep Medicine! The abstract and citation can be found below.
Abstract
Introduction: The global rise of the Internet and its near constant use by children and adolescents has given rise to concerns on the potential for Internet addiction (IA) and subsequent detrimental impacts on sleep habits. This study analyzed associations between IA and sleep outcomes in school-aged children and adolescents in the United States.Methods: Broadly representative survey data was collected from Utah, surrounding states, and all other states (n = 775 parent-child dyads). Logistic regression models relating the association between Internet Addiction scores and self-reported sleep duration, sleep timing, sleep quality and screen use before sleep were completed.
Results: Severe IA was associated with 3.10 times higher odds of not meeting sleep guidelines compared to normal users (aOR = 3.10, 95 % CI: 1.97–4.90). Moderate and severe IA were associated with later bedtimes (aOR = 1.53, 95 % CI: 1.05–2.22 and aOR = 2.21, 95 % CI: 1.40–3.50, respectively). Moderate IA users had 1.81 times higher odds of screen use before sleep (aOR = 1.81, 95 % CI: 1.26–2.64). Sleep quality was not associated with IA in main analyses, but in some sensitivity analyses higher IA was associated lower odds of fair/poor sleep quality.
Conclusions: These results suggest IA is unfavourably associated with several key sleep outcomes. Further experimental or longitudinal studies could confirm the directionality of these associations. Policies aimed at reducing screen time overall, preventing screen time before bed, and preventing late sleep timing in general could contribute towards reducing the risk of developing or worsening IA, while improving sleep health overall.
