Use of digital screens by adolescents and association on sleep quality: a systematic review

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the influence of digital screen use on adolescents’ quality of sleep. This systematic review was recorded on PROSPERO (CRD42020203403) and conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies covering adolescents from 10 to 19 years were included without language or publication restrictions which answered the following guiding question: “Does the use of digital screen influence adolescents’ quality sleep?”. Article search included the following databases: (MEDLINE/PubMed), LILACS, SciELO, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, IBECS, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Open Gray. The following descriptors were used: “Sleep Quality”, “Screen Time”, and “Adolescent”. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) assessed the methodological quality of the cohort studies, and a modified NOS was used to assess the cross-sectional ones. In total, 2,268 articles were retrieved, of which 2,059 were selected for title and abstract reading, after duplicates were deleted. After this stage, 47 articles were selected for full reading, resulting in the 23 articles which compose this review. Excessive use of digital screens was associated with worse and shorter sleep, showing, as its main consequences, night awakenings, long sleep latency, and daytime sleepiness. The use of mobile phones before bedtime was associated with poor quality of sleep among adolescents. Our evaluation of the methodological quality of the chosen studies found seven to be poor and 16, moderate.