Screen use and sleep in early childhood: a national survey of Australian families

Early childhood is a foundational period for establishing lifelong sleep health habits. In the context of increasing digital device use from infancy, understanding how screen use disrupts sleep is essential for informing public health guidelines and supporting families to develop healthy digital technology use and sleep routines. The present study seeks to examine how digital technology use, differentiated by device type and timing, relates to sleep patterns and problems in children aged 6-months to 6-years. Cross-sectional, secondary data analysis of the first year (2023-24) online survey from the four-year longitudinal Australian Children of the Digital Age (ACODA) Study. Participants were 3,324 caregivers of Australian children aged between 6-months and 6-years. Caregivers completed an online survey assessing socio-demographics, child sleep and napping patterns, sleep problems, sleep disturbance and daytime impairment, and digital technology use. Screen use was assessed by parent report of device type (handheld devices vs. static devices), duration of use, bedroom use, and frequency of using devices in the 2-hours prior to bed in the evening. Almost 60% of 1-year-olds adhered to National 24-hour screen use guidelines, however, fewer than half of children across all other age groups adhered to these same guidelines, with adherence lowest among 2- and 3-year-olds. Handheld devices were the most common device-types used in bedrooms. Usage in bedrooms increased with age, reaching almost 40% among 5-year-olds. In adjusted models, greater handheld device use and frequent evening screen exposure were associated with shorter night sleep duration, later sleep time, and increased sleep problems across most age groups. The effects of static device use on sleep varied by age. This study highlights that children in Australia are exposed to digital technologies early and often, and that there may be differential effects on sleep depending on device type, timing and age leading to reductions in sleep duration and later sleep time in children aged 6-months to 6-years. Findings support the need for clearer public health messaging and further research using objective measures to better understand mechanisms to inform policy and practice.