The Effect of the Use of An Electronic Device Before Bed on Sleep Quality

It is important for people to get the proper amount of sleep each night, especially for adolescents, but it has been found that many children do not get enough sleep. Studies show that using cell phones and other electronic devices before bed can negatively interfere with sleep (White et al., 2011). The purpose of this experiment was to see if sleep quality would improve when electronics were not used before bed or when Night Shift was used during electronic device use before bed. It was predicted that not using an electronic device before bed would be the best for improving sleep quality and increasing REM sleep, followed by using Night Shift during electronic device use before bed. Four high school students participated in the study for a total of 60 nights. They used their cell phone for 20 minutes before going to bed for the first 20 nights of experimentation, followed by using their cell phone with Night Shift turned on for 20 minutes before going to bed for the next 20 nights, and then not using their phone before going to bed for the last 20 nights. The hypothesis was partially supported because the Tukey test that was performed after the MANOVA and ANOVA found that only the sleep quality scores for No Phone Use were significantly higher than Phone Use (w/o Night Shift) (p = 0.014) and Phone Use (w/ Night Shift) (p = 0.004), while Phone Use (w/ Night Shift) ended up being slightly lower than Phone Use (w/o Night Shift). Also, only the REM sleep percentages for No Phone Use were significantly higher than just Phone Use (w/o Night Shift) (p = 0.070). In conclusion, eliminating electronic device use before bed improved both sleep quality and REM sleep, while using Night Shift on one’s iOS device before bed does not significantly impact sleep quality and REM sleep