Link Between Screen Time, Depression in Teens Mediated by Poor Sleep
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 7, 2025 -- The association between screen time and depression seen among adolescents is potentially mediated by poor sleep, according to a study published online April 2 in PLOS Global Health.
Sebastian Hökby, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues collected three-wave psychometric health data from 4,810 healthy Swedish students to examine links between screen time, sleep, and depression. Four sleep facets (quality, duration, chronotype, and social jetlag) were tested as competing mediators using gender-wise structural equation modeling.
The researchers found that screen time deteriorated sleep within three months, with effect sizes varying between mediators (β, 0.14 to 0.30), but less so between genders. Screen time at baseline had a direct adverse effect on depression after 12 months among boys (β, 0.02). The depressive effect among girls was mediated through sleep quality, duration, and chronotype (57, 38, and 45 percent mediation, respectively). The findings for social jetlag were not significant.
"These results support studies suggesting that screen time displaces sleep in more than one way, including the duration, quality, and midsleep times," the authors write. "This conceptually replicates the screen-sleep displacement hypothesis effect, and shows that the hypothesis is theoretically applicable to Structural Equation Modeling."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2025
Read this next
One in 10 Mental Health-Related ED Visits Among Youths Involve Boarding
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20, 2025 -- Boarding is a considerable issue for Medicaid-enrolled youths seeking mental health care in emergency departments (EDs), according to a research letter...
College Students With Autism Report Higher Rates of Anxiety, Depression
TUESDAY, Aug. 19, 2025 -- College students with autism face higher rates of anxiety and depression than students without autism, according to a study recently published online in...
Sleep Fragmentation Negatively Linked to QoL in Pediatric Nocturnal Enuresis
FRIDAY, Aug. 15, 2025 -- For children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE), sleep fragmentation is negatively associated with physical and social quality of life, with N2...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.