Research Review: Surprising Results From UB Study on Media Use and Bedtime Rituals

Have you heard that using your phone, watching TV, or playing video games before bed can disrupt your sleep? According to a new study co-authored by Lindsay Hahn, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, using media before bed can actually be beneficial for your sleep.

Hahn’s study used objective measures of sleep to investigate the use of television, radio, video games, music and music videos and how disruptive this type of media use was to participants’ normal sleep routines in their homes. Participants were told to exclude social media use. The study suggests that using media before bed is associated with falling asleep earlier and more total sleep time, so long as the media use is kept relatively short and you aren’t multitasking with other activities. In a recent interview for this Buffalo Research News story, Hahn explained the study’s findings.

What were your findings, and do you have any tips for folks who are already watching media before bed and still having trouble sleeping?

Our findings suggest that media use before bed is associated with falling asleep earlier and more total sleep time, so long as the media use involves no multitasking with simultaneous activities, and the time spent with media is relatively short. Being in bed during use also seems to improve sleep. So, if folks aren’t seeing positive effects from their media use on sleep, our results suggests that they may want to be intentional with media use to relax before bed. Again, using media should be the only thing they are doing (i.e., no multitasking), the duration of use should be kept short, and the media use should occur in bed.  

Were the results surprising to you?

Yes and no. On one hand, most research investigating media’s influence reveals relatively small, if any, effects on people’s behaviors. So, we weren’t surprised that most of the effects we are seeing here are relatively small. But we also know the popular narrative in research is that media have a negative impact on people’s sleep. The fact that our findings diverged from that narrative was a bit surprising. We were also surprised by the finding that being in bed while using media seems to help rather than hinder sleep, because this is in contrast to many sleep hygiene recommendations.

What’s the key takeaway here for folks who might want to use media before bed, but assumed it would have a negative impact on sleep?

I think that it is important to consider how media impacts your individual sleep routine and sleep quality. We know that the relationship between media use and sleep is complex. What detracts from sleep quality for one person may improve sleep quality for someone else. If you wake up feeling particularly energized — or groggy — some mornings, it’s worth thinking back to how you spent time with media the night before. Think about the amount of time of your use, whether you were only focused on that media, and the type of media content you were spending time with. We know these things can impact sleep in different ways, so considering how your own media diet may impact your individual sleep is worth your time, especially if it means it can improve your sleep.

As a final point, I would mention that media use often gets a reputation for being “bad” for us, but the reality is that the relationship between media and our health, including our sleep quality, is much more complicated than a simple label of “bad” or “good.” Media are woven into our lives because they are useful in many aspects of our lives, so it’s worth acknowledging the good side, as well.