05/21/2026
Teens averaged over 50 minutes of smartphone use between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on school nights, researchers found, and nearly halt of the teens used their phones between midnight and 4 a.m.
The majority of that phone use was spent on apps like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, the study found. Others were looking at streaming apps or playing games like Roblox or Clash Royale.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, used data from an app installed on the teens’ phones that passively tracked their screen use patterns, said Jason Nagata, the lead author and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco.
This is significant because “a lot of prior studies have relied on self-reporting of screen use,” he said, which isn’t as thorough or accurate.
“I was surprised that nearly half of adolescents are using their phones between midnight and 4 a.m.” Nagata said.
“That’s a really critical window when kids should be asleep, especially on school nights.”
The full impact on sleep likely goes beyond the minutes spent staring at a glowing screen, he said. Social media “is very emotionally activating,” he says. “There’s a lot of stimulation, and that can make it harder for teens in particular to wind down, even after you’ve turned the phone off.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/05/19/nearly-half-teens-are-losing-critical-sleep-phone-use-after-midnight/
