AUTHOR=Sun Long , Li Keqing , Zhang Lili , Zhang Yunshu 

TITLE=Distinguishing the Associations Between Evening Screen Time and Sleep Quality Among Different Age Groups: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.865688

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.865688

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Objective: The age differences about the association between screen time and sleep problems have been implied in many studies, and this study aims to distinguish the associations between evening screen time and sleep quality among different age groups.
Methods: This is a population-based cross-sectional study among community residents aged ≥18 years in China. A total of 21,376 valid questionnaires were analyzed. Sleep quality was measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Averaged evening screen time (AEST), social-demographic information and health-related behaviors were also evaluated in this study.
Results: In 18-to-34-year age group, comparing with people without AEST, ≤1 hour/day (β=0.34, p<0.05) and >3 hours/day (β=1.05, p<0.001) of AEST was significantly associated with poor sleep quality, and a reverse S-shaped relationship for this association was shown. In 35-to-49-year and 50-to-64-year age groups, ≤1 hour/day (β=0.43 and 0.36, both p<0.001), ≤2 hours/day (β=0.43 and 0.31, p<0.001 and p<0.01), ≤3 hours/day (β=0.62 and 0.61, both p<0.001), and >3 hours/day (β=1.55 and 1.88, both p<0.001) of AEST were positively associated with poor sleep quality. For 65-year-and-older age group, a J-shaped relationship about this relationship was found, and ≤3 hours/day (β=0.82, p<0.001) and >3 hours/day (β=1.84, p<0.001) of AEST was associated with poor sleep quality.
Conclusions: Associations between AEST and sleep quality among different age groups are different. For 18-to-34-year and 65-year-and-older age groups, acceptable AEST is not related with sleep quality. For 35-to-49-year and 50-to-64-year age groups, AEST was harmful for sleep quality.