How can phones affect sleep?

+ tips to help your teen avoid theirs

Quick summary

• Phones can disrupt your teen's sleep by emitting a blue light, which interferes with the body clock and delays melatonin
• With this in mind, it can help to suggest phone-free bedrooms or, if this isn't an option, alternative activities to help your teen wind down, like podcasts or reading
• It can also help to remind your teen that good sleep is so important for their overall heath and wellbeing, so getting into healthy habits with this is key

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It’s no secret that teens love their screens – whether it’s scrolling, gaming, or chatting.

But have you noticed if your teen struggles to wind down at night or seems more tired during the day? The reason could lie in how devices affect their sleep.

Here’s why phones can affect sleep

Everyone has a built-in “body clock,” known as the circadian rhythm, that regulates sleep and wakefulness.

This rhythm is heavily influenced by light.

During the day, natural light helps us feel alert and awake, while darkness signals the release of melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy.

However, the blue light emitted by electronic devices disrupts this process. It tricks the brain into thinking it’s still daytime, delaying melatonin release and making it harder to fall asleep. Over time, this can lead to insufficient sleep, which can leave teens feeling irritable, unfocused, and more tired during the day.

Tips to support better sleep habits

Getting a teenager to unplug isn’t always easy – phones and devices are pretty central to their social lives and downtime nowadays. But there are some practical strategies you can try to help them build healthier sleep routines:

• Use dark mode: encourage your teen to activate dark mode on their devices to reduce screen brightness and blue light exposure
• Phone-free bedrooms: create a household rule to keep bedrooms screen-free at night – if this feels too challenging, you could offer to help by keeping their phone in a safe spot until morning
• Explore other forms of entertainment: suggest non-digital pre-sleep activities like reading, journalling, doing art, or even organising their outfits for the next day
• Set a wind-down period: help them develop a habit of avoiding screens 1–2 hours before bedtime – suggest replacing screen time with something relaxing, like listening to a podcast or doing a skincare routine

If you do genuinely have worries there's something more going on, luna's got a guide to spotting the signs of a phone addiction which you might find helpful.

Why it’s worth it – justifying these suggestions to your teen

Sleep is crucial for teens’ health, mood, and academic performance – not to mention their overall wellbeing.

Helping your teen establish healthier habits around nighttime screen use can make a big difference in how they feel and function day to day.

Give them some of these tips a try, if you like, and remind them that even small changes can have a big impact on their sleep and energy levels. Here’s to better rest for everyone in your family.