Every second teenager feels under-recovered

"Mobile devices can easily be taken into the room or even into bed. Parents are less able to control their children's media consumption as a result," study leaders conclude.

Since electronic media are often used before falling asleep, ZHAW researchers investigated whether there are any correlations to sleep and rest among adolescents. The results show that most of the young people surveyed sleep between eight and eight and a half hours. However, sleep duration decreases with age. While 12- to 13-year-olds still sleep more than eight hours a night, 18- to 19-year-olds only sleep a little more than seven hours.

"Young people's time to fall asleep naturally shifts backwards as they get older, they become so-called owls," says ZHAW media psychologist Daniel Süss, who conducted the JAMESfocus study with Gregor Waller and his team. The JAMESfocus series takes an in-depth look at various aspects of the JAMES study, which examines the media behavior of Swiss young people between the ages of 12 and 19.

Teenagers unrecovered

In addition to the duration of sleep, the state of recovery of the adolescents during the week was also surveyed. Half of the surveyed adolescents, regardless of age, do not feel refreshed or tend not to feel refreshed during the week. The ZHAW researchers identified party attendance, playing video games, sending photos and movies with the cell phone, and using the cell phone as an alarm clock as risk factors for recovery. According to the ZHAW researchers, the media equipment of young people can therefore play a decisive role in sleep problems.

"Mobile devices can easily be taken into the room or even into bed. Parents are less able to control their children's media consumption as a result," says Daniel Süss. According to the 2014 JAMES study, Swiss young people are very well equipped: 98 percent own a cell phone, 76 percent a computer or laptop and 29 percent a tablet. Factors such as hormonal changes, social pressure or school requirements could not be recorded in this study. However, it is known from other studies that these also play an important role in sleep quality.

Not every reading good

If teenagers have sleep problems, it makes sense to ban the cell phone from the bedroom and, at most, reduce gaming. Smartphone screens and what's on them can rob children of sleep. But there's no need to despair either - very often, clear rules help. The important thing is for parents to talk to their children about it," says Michael In Albon, youth and media expert at Swisscom. Certain behaviors can have a positive effect on the quality of sleep of young people. "For example, if they do something with the family or read a book instead of WhatsApp messages before going to bed, they feel more rested the next day," says Daniel Süss.

Tips for schools

Check media use before going to bed: The release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin is delayed by the blue light components of the screens. Therefore, take a one-hour break from screens before going to bed. Switch off devices: For undisturbed sleep, mobile devices should be turned off or put in flight mode (without WLAN). Don't use your cell phone as an alarm clock: Use a conventional alarm clock instead of the cell phone and banish the cell phone from the nightstand - this way there is no reason to take the device into the room.

Ability to concentrate: For students who are unfocused or sleepy during class, media consumption - especially in the evening hours - should be addressed.

More information about the study