Smartphone use, particularly before bedtime and for extended periods, has a substantial and adverse effect on the quality of sleep in elementary school children, with smartphone use exceeding 2 hours per day identified as the strongest independent predictor of sleep quality.
The vast majority of primary school-aged children in the study exceeded the clinical threshold for sleep problems.
Smartphone use exceeding 2 hours per day was the strongest independent predictor of sleep quality.
Technology use prior to bedtime was significantly associated with elevated CSHQ scores.
The study examined multiple technology use characteristics as potential predictors of sleep quality in primary school-aged children.
This research examined how children's use of screens and technology affects their sleep quality. Researchers surveyed the parents of 600 primary school children, asking about their children's use of televisions, tablets, and smartphones, whether these devices were kept in children's bedrooms, and whether children used screens before going to sleep. Sleep quality was measured using a standard questionnaire completed by parents called the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. The findings revealed a striking result: nearly all children in the study (98.7%) scored above the threshold that indicates clinically significant sleep problems, suggesting that poor sleep quality may be widespread among this age group. Among all the technology-related factors studied, smartphone use for more than 2 hours per day emerged as the single strongest predictor of poor sleep quality. Using any technology before bedtime was also significantly linked to worse sleep. These findings held up even after statistically accounting for other factors, meaning the smartphone effect was not simply explained by other variables like demographics. This research suggests that children's smartphone habits — particularly extended daily use and use close to bedtime — may be meaningfully disrupting their sleep. Since adequate sleep is critical for children's development, learning, and health, these findings point to smartphone use as a particularly important behavior for parents and caregivers to be aware of. The extremely high proportion of children with apparent sleep problems in this sample also raises broader questions about sleep health in school-aged children today.
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Upload Your LabsDereli F, Ercan M. (2026). The effect of technology use on sleep quality in primary school-aged children.. Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0046-1827211