Sleeping Patterns, Media Use, and Adolescent Well-Being: Results of the AMES Survey

• In Event: Love, Same-Sex Marriage, Story-Telling, and Sleeping Across the Lifespan

Abstract

Adolescence is marked by physiological and social changes that often result in altered sleeping patterns and media use. These behaviors are related and can result in poorer physical and cognitive well-being. Using data from the Annenberg Media Environment Survey, this study assessed responses of 814 parents with children, age 10-17. Parents reported children’s exposure to media, bedtime, sleep duration, general health and grades. The goal was to disentangle the relationships between these variables. Results indicate that media use in the hour before bed was associated with later bedtimes. Later bedtimes were then predictive of poorer general health, suggesting that the experience of shifting one’s sleep-wake cycle has adverse effects. Only media use was associated with children’s grades in school, supporting a displacement hypothesis and countering the research suggesting sleep impacts academic performance. Thus, this study revealed the relationships between media, sleep and well-being emerging during the vital period of adolescence.

Authors

• Jessica Castonguay, U of Arizona

• Amy B. Jordan, U of Pennsylvania