Teenagers face health crisis from sleep loss caused by late-night smartphone use

• New research indicates that US teenagers are experiencing significant sleep loss due to extensive late-night smartphone usage.
• The study, which tracked 657 adolescents, found an average of 50 minutes of smartphone use between 10 pm and 6 am on school nights, with nearly half using devices between midnight and 4 am.
• This sleep deprivation is linked to negative consequences for teens' health, including mental health issues and chronic diseases, as well as poorer academic performance.
• Paediatrician Jason Nagata from the University of California at San Francisco highlighted this late-night period as crucial for adolescent sleep.
• Experts recommend families establish media plans, power off devices, or ideally, remove screens from bedrooms entirely to safeguard teenagers' sleep quality and duration.

IN FULL

Nearly half of teens are losing critical sleep by staying up too late on their phones