Mobile phone use at bedtime major cause of sleep disruption in youngsters: Experts

Patna: Local doctors have raised concern over a growing number of children and teenagers suffering sleep disruption linked to excessive screen time, warning that the increasing use of mobile phones at bedtime is becoming a serious health concern.

City-based paediatrician Dr Umairah Naaz said complaints related to excessive screen time have risen sharply since the Covid-19 period and that this has directly affected children’s sleep patterns. She said children need at least six to eight hours of sleep for healthy growth as important hormones are released during sleep.

Professor and head of the psychiatry department and de-addiction unit at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Dr Santosh Kumar, said such complaints were rare 15 to 20 years ago when mobile phones were not widely used. He said he now receives an average of five cases a day in which parents report that their children remain constantly glued to screens, including mobile phones, laptops and television.

Dr Kumar said excessive screen exposure harms both mental and physical health. “Children are increasingly reporting sleep disorders, waking up in the middle of the night, morning headaches and poor concentration,” he said. He added that poor sleep can also affect gut health, leading to digestive problems and even impacting cardiac health.

“While technology has become unavoidable, children’s screen time must be supervised and proper sleep should be ensured,” he said. He advised parents to encourage book reading to improve retention and recommended avoiding screen use after 7 pm.

Director at Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital, Dr Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, said uninterrupted sleep is essential for both mental and physical health, supporting brain development, emotional stability, memory, concentration, immunity and overall well-being. He said adults need around six hours of sleep, while children require about eight to 10 hours for proper growth.

“Sleep is a must for proper physical activity and being physically active is a must for good sleep. Both are dependent on one another. Hence parents should ensure that children are involved in physical activities, rather than getting glued to the screen,” Dr Prasad said.

Teachers also said the impact is increasingly visible in classrooms. A teacher at a private school in Patna said even very young children are showing signs of sleep deprivation, with several kindergarten students seen yawning or even falling asleep during class. Some children have told teachers they stay awake watching content on mobile phones with their mothers.

Meanwhile, one study found that nearly half of the Indian population gets less than six hours of sleep, while experts said complaints of disturbed sleep are now increasingly being reported even among children and adolescents. Specialists said the growing habit of using smartphones in bed, often for social media, gaming or watching videos late at night, is significantly reducing both the duration and quality of sleep among youngsters.