Digital devices have ‘no impact’ on teenagers’ sleep

Taking away a teen’s phone or tablet at night does not make them sleep better or longer, a new study has found.

Taking away a teen’s phone or tablet at night does not make them sleep better or longer nor does it mean they will perform better in sports the following day, a new study of young ­athletes has found.

The investigation into the ­impact of electronic devices ­revealed no change at all among the Australian Institute of Sport’s junior judo champions.

The teens whose phones and tablets were taken away for a few days continued to fall asleep at exactly the same time at night and performed just as well as before in training, according to lead researcher Ian Duncan from the Centre for Sleep Science at the University of Western Australia.

“We thought they would go to sleep earlier … because that’s what middle aged and older people do in similar studies,” he said.

“However, these guys were so young — between 16 and 19 — and they did go to bed earlier but they didn’t fall asleep and we think that’s because teens have that locked-in owl-like sleep ­behaviour … it’s like asking a 30-year-old to go to sleep at 5pm. They just can’t do it.”

The researchers monitored the effects of the removal of electronic devices for 48 hours in 23 judo athletes during a six-day training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport. The athletes wore an activity monitor to ­measure sleep quality.

The researchers found that although athletes went to bed earlier when the devices were ­removed, they fell asleep at the same time as those who had ­access to electronic devices. Removal of the devices did not ­affect their sleep quality, or next-day physical performance ­compared to those who continued to use electronic devices. The ­athletes did not have televisions in their shared rooms throughout the study.

Among the participants was 19-year-old Harry Cassar, a promising judo champion from Mornington in Victoria who said he was “pretty tired” after training but still stayed awake until 10pm. His training at the AIS during the sleep study began at 7am with an hour of running, sprints and push-ups, then a judo session, an hour of weight training after lunch, another judo ­session then recovery in the pool.

“At the time I didn’t have Facebook or Instagram but I did use the internet on my phone to check the news, watch videos on YouTube and stuff like that … I’d obviously be pretty tired,” he said.

The researchers will now explore whether a few hours extra sleep in the morning improves performance after a call for training sessions to start later.