New Data from 4,500 Grade 5-8 GTA Students Exposes More Troubling Linkages Between Children's Social Media Use and Sleep Deprivation

Majority recognize need to alter screen time and sleeping habits to improve brain health

TORONTO, April 4, 2024 /CNW/ - Women's Brain Health Initiative (WBHI) today released new data that exposes more troubling linkages between children's social media use and sleep deprivation.

WBHI is sharing exit slip survey data from over 4,500 students in greater Toronto following their participation in Brainable, WBHI's in-school program promoting the Six Pillars of Brain Health.

The survey results have been reviewed by Drs. Heidi Cramm and Erna Snelgrove-Clarke of Queen's University.

The majority of grade five to eight students who completed the exit slip surveys acknowledge that they should be altering their screen time and/or sleep habits to improve their brain health.  Grade eight responses suggest a growing awareness of the connection between more screen time and less sleep.

"These results tell us earlier intervention is required to reverse a rapidly emerging children's health crisis," said Lynn Posluns, WBHI President and CEO. "Despite being aware of the imperative to cut down on screen time and prioritize restorative sleep, an overwhelming number of students find themselves trapped in a relentless cycle they struggle to break.  The situation is urgent and critical."

"Screen time use, disrupted sleep, and reduced physical activity seem to be very enmeshed for students, even by grade five," said Dr. Cramm. "By grade eight, students indicate an intention to change behaviours on multiple fronts, underscoring the complex challenges facing these children.  Awareness and education are critical elements in upstream approaches to promoting brain health."

Students in ten GTA school boards were surveyed during the 2022-23 school year as part of Brainable's classroom program and invited to answer questions related to their brain health. 

"Social media and screens, in general, can be helpful tools if they are used correctly but too much screen time or bad influences on social media, for example, can harm a developing brain," said Jade Crystal, Brainable Program Director.

Sleep, physical exercise, social interaction, healthy eating, mental exercise, and stress reduction represent the Six Pillars of Brain Health. All six pillars are integral to mental wellness and emphasized in WBHI's free Brainable education program in Ontario geared to young students about how to protect their brain health.

In response to this new data and other recent public reports, WBHI is calling on federal and provincial governments to:

• Urgently develop and initiate public education campaigns promoting the best reasons and ways to reduce excess screen time and increase sleep time for children, starting in preschool.
• Like successful anti-tobacco campaigns, students and teachers should be included in developing public education themes and messages.
• Expand access to classroom programs for students and teaching tools like Brainable to help reverse current trends and increase awareness of effective strategies to reduce excess screen time, increase sleep time, and promote physical activity.
• Develop community and classroom programs with trusted partners for preschool families and kindergarten to grade four students that can disrupt these harmful screens and sleep-time trends.
• Increase national investment in brain health research and education.

Researchers have illuminated sleep's vital role in the development of adolescent brains. Sufficient sleep – nine to eleven hours each night for 10- to 14-year-olds – helps body systems restore and recover, protects healthy brain development, and facilitates learning and memory consolidation. Chronic sleep loss or poor quality can have profound consequences on regulating emotions, decision-making, controlling behaviour and being less resilient to stress.  Addressing sleep issues early can reduce the risk of future mental health struggles. 

WBHI is a Canadian charitable foundation established in 2012.  Today, WBHI is the largest resource for evidence-informed information specific to women's brain health. WBHI's research, education, and awareness programs are essential to improving the brain health and mental wellness of women, caregivers, and their families.

Learn more at brainable.ca.

SOURCE Women's Brain Health Initiative (WBHI)

For more information, backgrounder, and the survey summary, please contact: Contact: Sarah Tratt, c: [phone], [email protected]