Take the phone or take the risk? Your teen’s sleep is paying the price—how to break the bedtime scrolling habit

Quite often, Dubai-based Madhumita Bhasin (name changed on request) wakes up to see the all-too-familiar glow under her daughter’s blanket. “It’s 4 am, my daughter is frantically texting. I’ve asked her, now what’s happened? What can’t wait till you get to school?”

Her daughter mutters in annoyance and puts the phone under her pillow. “I try telling her to please put the phone away on the desk, but she insists on keeping it under her pillow.”

The worst part: Bhasin sees her daughter wearily getting ready to school, and later hears stories of her falling asleep in class. “We’ve discussed it many times, and now I’ve promised to take her phone away at night, if this continues,” she says.

The truth is, this frenzy for the smartphone goes well-beyond just momentary distractions. Studies keep piling up, according to one published in the International Journal of Caring Sciences found that 67.2 per cent of university students kept their phones under their pillow or near the bed while sleeping. This behaviour was associated with poor sleep quality, with 70.9 per cent of participants reporting such issues. Worse, prolonged phone conversations, or even using the phone while charging and the phone’s proximity during sleep contributed to these disturbances.

Additionally, a study published in the Journal of Nature and Science of Sleep found that 70% of students kept their mobile phones near the pillow while sleeping. This practice was positively correlated with daytime sleepiness, sleep disturbances, and increased sleep latency. This may be due to the urge to check notifications, vibrations from messages, heat from charging, and exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by phones, even when not in active use.

The urgency to stay connected

As Dubai-based Victoria Lauren, a psychologist explains, every teenager goes through this phase: The desperation to be connected. The fear that you have to know what’s happening right away, otherwise you’re missing out on something. “In our days, it was landlines. And now it is the cell phones."

It’s a general belief that most have too, that if they don’t answer the phone right away, they have missed something crucial.

She says, before you try looking for concrete steps (and preferably avoid phone confiscations!), you need to have a conversation with your teen, and make them aware about the impact that this addiction to the phone has on them. “You need to let them know that you are on the side. And then ask questions like, okay, what’s the difference if your phone is on the desk and not under your pillow? What happens then?”

There’s no point doing a blanket ban; that just aggravates and antagonises them, further.  So, you have to work hard to coax them out of this cycle of doomscrolling, chatting, and being permanently connected, she says.

Make them aware of what the consequences are. Let them know that the loop is vicious: When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry. And so, people feel like binging. They eat unhealthy foods, the quick fixes for the mood boost. The mood is temporarily sorted, but the long-term effects begin to show. And the patterns become hard to break.

What the science says: A study published by the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that people who sleep with their phones on their pillows are more likely to be obese. The study’s authors believe that the blue light emitted from phones can interfere with sleep and disrupt the cycle.

The blue light and melatonin suppression

And the truth is, there are many consequences. You’re well aware that the blue light emitted by smartphone screens can interfere with the body's production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. Using phones before bedtime, especially without blue light filters, can fracture the sleep-wake cycle, leading to poor sleep quality and related health issues.  A 2015 study published in Sleep, supports this evidence too.

Exposure to harmful radiation

Cell phones emit low-level radiofrequency (RF) radiation. While the amount of radiation emitted by cell phones is considered safe, some studies have found that exposure to RF radiation may be linked to an increased risk of cancer.

For example, a 2018 study by the National Toxicology Program found that exposure to RF radiation from cell phones could cause cancer in rats. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings in humans.  Sleeping with a phone under a pillow can also lead to accidents, particularly if the phone is plugged in and charging. Overheating the phone due to prolonged use or charging can actually lead to fires.

Additionally, having a phone under a pillow may increase the risk of accidentally activating alarms, notifications, or calls during sleep, disrupting restful sleep and leading to daytime sleepiness.

So, here’s what you can do: