[Digital media use and sleep of adolescents: the effect of rules at home].

OBJECTIVE

To test whether parental rules regarding the amount of digital media use is associated with the sleep of Dutch adolescents, and whether this is indirectly due to lower digital media use.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study METHOD: Adolescents and their parents of the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) study completed questionnaires in 2019 at the age of 15-16 years (n=1369; 56% girls). Parents and adolescents reported whether there are rules regarding the amount of digital media use. The adolescents also reported their daily amount of digital media use, sleep duration, bedtime and sleep quality according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). We tested the association between rules and sleep duration, bedtime and sleep quality in adolescents using multivariate regression analysis. Using mediation analysis we tested whether rules were also indirectly associated with sleep outcome measures through the amount of digital media use.

RESULTS

Setting rules regarding digital media use was related to sleep duration; 6.8 minutes (95%CI:0.1;13.5) longer with inconsistently experienced rules and 18.5 minutes (95%CI:9.2;27.8) longer with consistently existing rules. Setting rules was also related to bedtime; 10 minutes (95%CI: -17;-4) earlier with inconsistently experienced rules and 29 minutes (95%CI:-38;-2) earlier with consistently existing rules. Setting rules was not directly associated with sleep quality. Indirectly, rules were associated with longer sleep duration, earlier bedtime and better sleep quality due to lower digital media use per day.

CONCLUSION

Parental rules regarding the amount of digital media use is associated with better sleep of adolescents. This is partly explained by lower digital media use.