Use of social media is associated with short sleep duration in a dose–response manner in students aged 11 to 20 years

Abstract

Aim: This study examined the association between social media and sleep duration among Canadian students aged 11–20. Methods: Data from 5242 students were obtained from the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a province-wide, school-based survey that has been conducted every two years since 1977. We measured the respondents’ sleep duration against the recommended ranges of 9–11 h per night at 11–13 years of age, 8–10 h at 14–17 and 7–9 h per night for those aged 18 years or more. Results: Overall, 36.4% of students met or exceeded the recommended sleep duration and 63.6% slept less than recommended, with 73.4% of students reporting that they used social media for at least one hour per day. After adjusting for various covariates, the use of social media was associated with greater odds of short sleep duration in a dose–response manner (p for linear trend <0.001). Odds ratios ranged from 1.82 for social media use of at least one hour per day to 2.98 for at least five hours per day. Conclusion: Greater use of social media was associated with shorter sleep duration in a dose–response fashion among Canadian students aged 11–20.