Do you have trouble getting a good night's sleep? Join the club. More than 50 to 70 million Americans report having a tough time getting enough shut-eye, according to the National Institutes of Health. A possible cause — looking at our screens after we've gone to bed.

The more we stare at our screens, the less sleep we'll get. They also found that once we do fall asleep, it won't be as deep and restorative as it should be.

Surprisingly, what you're staying up to look at really doesn't matter.

Increasing screen time by one hour at bedtime raised the likelihood of experiencing symptoms of insomnia by 59 percent. It also cut sleep duration by 24 minutes.

You can be scrolling Instagram or viewing a feature film and you'll still lose those precious zzz's. “The type of screen activity does not appear to matter as much as the overall time spent using screens in bed,” lead author of the study, Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, explained in a press release.

“We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption — likely due to time displacement, where screen use delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting.”

To examine the connection between screen time and slumber, the Nordic scientists used the 2022 Students' Health and Wellbeing Survey, a nationally representative study of Norwegian students. It included over 45,200 college and university students, between 18 and 28 years old.

First, they asked the participants whether they looked at screens after going to bed and for how long. Next, they asked them to identify their chosen activities: watching shows or movies, gaming, social media, surfing the internet, listening to audio-like podcasts, or reading study-related materials.

They also queried the student participants about:

  • Their bedtime and rising time
  • How long it took to fall asleep
  • How often they had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
  • How often they felt sleepy during the day
  • How long their sleep problems had persisted

Increasing screen time by one hour at bedtime increased the symptoms of insomnia by 59 percent and lowered sleep duration by 24 minutes.

The scientists defined insomnia as having trouble sleeping, as well as daytime sleepiness issues at least three times a week over at least three months.

Screens reduce sleep because they displace rest, the researchers say, not because they increase wakefulness.

There was no significant relationship between the time spent using a screen and the choice of activity; as a result, the researchers believe this indicates screens reduce sleep because they displace rest, not because they increase wakefulness.

“If you struggle with sleep and suspect that screen time may be a factor, try to reduce screen use in bed, ideally stopping at least 30-60 minutes before sleep,” suggests Hjetland. “If you do use screens, consider disabling notifications to minimize disruptions during the night.”

What else can you do to get that elusive good night's sleep? The National Sleep Foundation suggests:

  • Block out light
  • Minimize noise
  • Set the thermostat to 65° to 68°F
  • Go to bed and get up at the time every day
  • Keep naps to around 20 minutes
  • Get at least 30 minutes of exposure to natural light each day
  • Limit caffeine after 2 pm
  • Avoid alcohol an hour before bedtime

The study is published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.