Young people's sleep in a digital world: Unravelling the two-way impact between sleep and technology use

Sleep is essential for children’s and adolescents’ health, yet many do not get enough sleep. Evening screen use is often highlighted as a major cause of sleep problems, although the link is more complex than current recommendations suggest. This project examines the bidirectional relation between sleep and technology use in children and adolescents. In younger children, we investigate how light exposure and content affect melatonin and arousal, while in adolescents the focus is on whether sleep difficulties drive technology use to aid sleep onset. By combining controlled experiments with daily home-based assessments, the project provides a more nuanced, evidence-based foundation for guidelines that consider both the risks and potential sleep-supportive functions of technology use.