The effect of presleep video-game playing on adolescent sleep

Video-game use before bedtime has been linked with poor sleep outcomes for adolescents; however, experimental evidence to support this link is sparse. The present study investigated the capacity of presleep video-game playing to extend sleep latency and reduce subjective feelings of sleepiness in ad...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical sleep medicine 2010-04, Vol.6 (2), p.184-189
Main Authors: Weaver, Edward, Gradisar, Michael, Dohnt, Hayley, Lovato, Nicole, Douglas, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Analysis of Variance
Arousal
Australia - epidemiology
Cognition
Electroencephalography
Electromyography
Electrooculography
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
New Research
Sleep
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - epidemiology
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - psychology
Sleep Stages
Video Games - psychology
Video Games - statistics & numerical data
Wakefulness
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Summary:Video-game use before bedtime has been linked with poor sleep outcomes for adolescents; however, experimental evidence to support this link is sparse. The present study investigated the capacity of presleep video-game playing to extend sleep latency and reduce subjective feelings of sleepiness in adolescents. The arousing psychophysiologic mechanisms involved and the impact of presleep video-game playing on sleep architecture were also explored. Thirteen male adolescent "evening types" (mean age = 16.6 years, SD = 1.1) participated in a counterbalanced, within-subjects design with experimental (active video gaming) and control (passive DVD watching) conditions. The experiment was conducted in the Flinders University Sleep Research Laboratory. Relative to the control condition, presleep video-game playing increased sleep-onset latency (Z= 2.45, p= .01) and reduced subjective sleepiness (Z = 2.36, p = .02)-but only slightly. Video gaming was related to changes in cognitive alertness (as measured by a power: p < 0.01) but not physiologic arousal (as measured by heart rate: p > 0.05). Contrary to previous findings, sleep architecture was unaffected (both rapid eye movement and slow wave sleep: p > 0.05). Results suggest the direct effect of presleep video-game playing on adolescent sleep may be more modest than previously thought, suggesting that surveys linking stimulating presleep activities to poor sleep need substantiating with empirical evidence.
ISSN:1550-9389
1550-9397
DOI:10.5664/jcsm.27769