Screen Time and Sleep Statistics: Survey Trends 

Screen time before bed offers tantalizing temptations that can be hard to resist. If you ever lie in bed at night, scrolling social media, checking your email one last time, or playing round after round of Candy Crush, you’re not alone. Sleepopolis surveyed 1,495 American adults to ask about their screen time and sleep habits, and found some interesting results. Read on to learn what we discovered and how you can set screen time and sleep goals that don’t steal too much fun, but promote your best rest.

Average Screen Time For Adults 

According to our results, most American adults surveyed reported spending three to four hours on screens each day, outside of work or school. Some of those hours eat into bedtime, with 79 percent of respondents saying their screen time keeps them up at night at least three nights a week.

But, for overall after-work and evening use, average screen time in adults varied based on their generation. For example, 37 percent of Baby Boomers surveyed said they spend three hours or fewer on a screen after work hours, whereas 14 percent of Gen Z reported the highest screen time use (over 10 hours).

No matter which generation they fell into, the adults we surveyed got most active on social media after work and in the evening. But survey results illuminated generational differences when we got into specifics. For example, Gen Z had the highest rates of social media at nighttime — about 1.5 times that of Baby Boomers and Gen X. 

And although Baby Boomers spend most of their social media time after work and in the evening, they also reported higher levels of screen time in the morning or just after waking up: almost 18 percent compared to about 8 percent of Gen Z. 

At what time of day are you most frequently active on social media?

Two in Three Americans Fall Asleep and Wake Up to Screens 

Two in three people spend the majority of their nights and mornings viewing a screen before falling asleep and while waking up. Our survey also found:

• Younger generations do this even more, with seven in 10 Gen Zers viewing a screen before bed and upon waking up in the morning for most days. 
• Pre-bedtime screen use is more common than wake-up screen time, with 89.2 percent of people saying they use a screen for most or all nights before bed. 
• Gen Z led the way with 92.1 percent using a screen before bed at least most of the time.  
• 71.8 percent of adults use a screen for most of their mornings upon waking up — and once again, Gen Z had the highest percentage at 76.1 percent. 
• However, Baby Boomers led the way with the largest percentage — 53.0 percent — saying they use a screen every morning upon waking up. 
• This is likely due to different screen usage trends, as Baby Boomers were more likely to use screens in the morning for emailing (25.6 percent), while Gen Zers were more likely to use social media (55.7 percent).
• Gen Zers were kept awake by a screen for an average of 3 nights per week, over double the amount of nights for Baby Boomers (1.44). 
• Gen Zers also had the highest average self-reported stress rating and the largest percentage of respondents struggling to sleep three nights a week or more.

One in Four Americans Fall Asleep and Wake Up to Social Media 

Social media sneaks into a lot of adult bedtime routines, a fact our survey confirmed with these results:

• 42 percent of adults use social media most of the time around bedtime and waking up.  
• Evening social media use is more common than morning usage, with 61.69 percent of people using social media for most or all nights prior to sleeping. 
• Almost 8 in 10 Gen Zers use social media for most of their evenings before bed, just shy of double the rate for Baby Boomers. 
• A smaller proportion, around five in ten people, report using social media for most or all of their mornings upon waking up. Gen Zers were above average again, with 63.9 percent doing so. 
• Our data shows that screens keep American adults awake for an average of 2.42 nights per week. 
• Adults who use social media for most days upon waking up and before falling asleep are kept awake by their screens around 3 nights per week, and those who wake up and fall asleep with social media every day are kept awake by screen time for 3.48 nights on average. 
• The data shows that the more people use social media around their sleep and wake times, the more they may struggle with sleep.

Average Screen Time and Gen Z 

The youngest group of adults surveyed, Gen Z, most commonly reported getting six to seven hours of screen time before or after work and school. Gen Z has the highest rates of social media activity at nighttime, with 26 percent reporting social media use before bed, compared to 16 percent of Baby Boomers and 17 percent of Gen Xers. 

Our results also suggest Gen Zers don’t check their socials first thing in the morning — only about 8 percent reported social media use right after waking, compared to the overall average of 11 percent.

Gen Z Reports Higher Rates of Screen Time

For screen use overall, Gen Z’s average screen time was on the higher end of the spectrum, with fewer people reporting low screen time (1-3 hours) compared with the overall average. In fact, Gen Zers reported an average of seven or more hours of screen time per day, which may suggest they may frequently choose screens over sleep.

Gen Z is More Than Twice as Likely To Avoid Screen Time as Baby Boomers 

Does Gen Z better understand how screen time can have negative effects? Maybe — our survey suggests Gen Z tries to avoid screen time more than other generations.

• 40.89 percent of Gen Zers said they have attempted to avoid screen time before bed or upon waking up in the past month, compared to just 20.95 percent of Baby Boomers. 
• 87.45 percent of Gen Z said that it would be difficult for them to cut down on their nighttime screen time, compared to 64.86 percent of Baby Boomers, suggesting that they may find it easier to avoid nighttime screen time than younger generations, like Gen Z and Millennials.

More Social Media Use Correlates With Higher Stress Levels

Participants were asked to rate their overall stress level on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “not stressed” and 10 being “extremely stressed.” Here’s what they said:

• The average self-reported stress level in our survey was 5.44 out of 10, and Gen Z’s average rating was 8.2 percent higher while Baby Boomer’s average was 17.5 percent lower. 
• Our results show that the stress level for respondents who always use a screen upon waking up was 23.52 percent higher than those who never do so. 
• And, the stress level for respondents who always use a screen at night before bed was 29.74 percent higher than those that never use a screen before falling asleep.

Screen Time and Mental Health Statistics

Screen time and mental health have a complicated connection. As social media and screen use continues to grow in everyday life, experts have studied how these activities affect our mental well-being. One large study review found that while excessive social media use correlates with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, they also found some positive effects like more social support. (1)

However, too much screen time (with or without social media) can affect mood, behavior, academic achievement, and a sense of well-being. (2) (3) Studies also show a connection between screen time, missing sleep, depression, and anxiety. (4) (3) As you decide how much screen time you want to incorporate in your life, you can use this information to weigh the benefits and costs and strike the perfect balance for your mental health and sleep.

Methodology 

Sleepopolis surveyed 1,495 American adults on their screen usage and sleep habits through CloudResearch’s Connect survey platform. The data was collected from September 13th to September 14th, 2023.

Fair Use Statement

You are welcome to reference any of the data or graphics in this report with a link back to this page. If you have any questions or are interested in discussing these survey findings with a member of our team, please reach out to Brianna Auray (brianna.auray@mail.sleepopolis.com), Data Analyst at Sleepopolis.

Sources