Sleep problems in excessive technology use among adolescent: a systemic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

Inadequate sleep quantity and quality is a public health concern with an array of detrimental health outcomes. Portable technological devices have become a ubiquitous part of adolescents’ lives and may affect their sleep duration and quality. The purpose of this study was to summarize published analyses of various technology uses and sleep outcomes and to examine whether there is an association between excessive technology use (ETU) and poor sleep outcomes in adolescents.

Method

We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pubmed, Embase, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library were used. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were performed. Only original research papers published from 1999 to 2018 and offcially reviewed by peers were included for analysis. We used the Review Manager 5.3 software for statistical analysis.

Results

Nineteen studies were included, and their quality was assessed. These studies involved 253,904 adolescents (mean [SD] age, 14.82 [0.83] years; 51.1% male). There was a strong and consistent association between ETU and sleep problems (odds ratio [OR], 1.33; 95% CI, 1.24–1.43) (P < 0.00001, I² = 96%), reduced sleep duration (SMD, − 0.25; 95% CI, − 0.37-0.12) (P < 0.00001, I² = 81%), and prolonged sleep onset latency (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, − 0.02-0.34) (P = 0.05, I² = 66%).

Conclusions

ETU has a significant effect on sleep duration in adolescents over 14 years of age, prolong the SOL of adolescents, and may lead to several sleep problems. Interventions must be developed to raise awareness of the potential health hazard to improve sleep hygiene through an integrated approach involving teachers, health care professionals, and parents.