Effect of restricting bedtime mobile phone use on sleep, arousal, mood, and working memory: A randomized pilot trial.

BACKGROUND:This study aimed to assess the effects of restricting mobile phone use before bedtime on sleep, pre-sleep arousal, mood, and working memory. METHODS:Thirty-eight participants were randomized to either an intervention group (n = 19), where members were instructed to avoid using their mobil...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jing-Wen He, Zhi-Hao Tu, Lei Xiao, Tong Su, Yun-Xiang Tang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228756
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND:This study aimed to assess the effects of restricting mobile phone use before bedtime on sleep, pre-sleep arousal, mood, and working memory. METHODS:Thirty-eight participants were randomized to either an intervention group (n = 19), where members were instructed to avoid using their mobile phone 30 minutes before bedtime, or a control group (n = 19), where the participants were given no such instructions. Sleep habit, sleep quality, pre-sleep arousal and mood were measured using the sleep diary, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, the Pre-sleep Arousal Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule respectively. Working memory was tested by using the 0-,1-,2-back task (n-back task). RESULTS:Restricting mobile phone use before bedtime for four weeks was effective in reducing sleep latency, increasing sleep duration, improving sleep quality, reducing pre-sleep arousal, and improving positive affect and working memory. CONCLUSIONS:Restricting mobile phone use close to bedtime reduced sleep latency and pre-sleep arousal and increased sleep duration and working memory. This simple change to moderate usage was recommended to individuals with sleep disturbances.
ISSN:1932-6203