ABSTRACT
Introduction: Use of light emitting electronic devices in bed before sleep has been associated with sleep disruption in children and adolescents. Both the wavelength and intensity of the emitted light, and cognitive and emotional engagement with the device, have been proposed as explanations for subsequent sleep disruption. Here, we examined the association between daily self-reported electronic devices usage and objective sleep parameters in an adult population of consumer sleep technology users. Method(s): Data from 231 users without sleep disorders (mean age: 48.8 +/- 16.6 years, 51% female, ages 16-82) across 25,282 nights were included in the analysis. Sleep data was captured between March 3, 2020 and March 3, 2022, using the PSG-validated Sleep Score mobile application, which uses a non-contact, sonar-based method to objectively capture sleep-related metrics. Self-reported data were collected from a cross-sectional survey whereby users were asked, "In a typical week, how often do you use electronic devices in bed before going to sleep?" as per their experience after the COVID pandemic started. A mixed effect model was used for the analysis controlling for age, chronotype, weekend, and gender. Dependent variables included total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep efficiency, WASO percent, bedtime, waking up time and time in bed (TIB). Result(s): Higher electronic device usage was associated with a reduction in TST (min) (beta = -9.2, 95%CI [-15.9, -2.5], p = 0.007), delayed bedtimes (beta = 0.17, 95%CI [0.029, 0.324], p = 0.019), and a reduction in TIB (min) (beta = -8.8, 95%CI [-14.75, -2.87], p < 0.005).There was no significant relationship between electronic device usage screen usage and SOL, sleep efficiency, percentage wake after sleep onset (WASO), and waking up time. Conclusion(s): Self-reported use of electronic devices in bed before sleep was associated with shorter TIB, later bedtime, and shorter TST. Our results suggest that electronic device usage before bed reduces the sleep opportunity window and subsequently shortens the time in bed and total sleep time. Future research is warranted to determine whether consumer sleep technologies may allow users to uncover deleterious pre-sleep behaviours which may contribute to sleep-wake dysfunction through daily logging and personalized feedback.