‘Children who use electronic devices at bedtime have more than double the risk of not getting enough sleep during the night compared to those who don’t use them.’

– World Economic Forum

 Screens & Sleep: Why Unplugging Matters (for Everyone!)

Let’s be honest, most of us are more attached to our screens than we’d like to admit. Whether it’s phones, tablets, laptops or TVs, they’ve become a constant presence in our daily lives. For younger kids, it might be zoning out in front of YouTube. Teenagers often find themselves endlessly scrolling on TikTok or Snapchat. And for adults, there’s always one more email to send, a school form to fill out, or a slide deck to tweak before tomorrow’s meeting. Screens are everywhere, all the time, and it’s no wonder they’ve crept into our evenings and even our beds.

But there is a price to pay for this 24/7 connection, and one of the biggest casualties is sleep. It’s not just about staying up too late, it’s about the way screen exposure affects our brains and bodies. Blue light messes with our natural rhythms. Constant notifications keep our minds alert. The urge to keep going, to check just one more thing, means we rarely get a proper wind-down. And this isn’t just a problem for teens or busy professionals—it’s affecting sleep quality and mental health across all ages, from toddlers right through to adults.

So, what can we do about it?

The World Health Organization and NICE recommend screen-free wind-down time in the evening, and Health Professionals for Safer Screens suggest some practical cut-off points:

• Under-5s should have no screen time at all for at least two hours before bed.
• For 6 to 17-year-olds, that drops to a minimum of one hour.
• And adults? Honestly, we should be aiming for at least an hour too.

If you’re ready to reclaim your evenings and give your brain the rest it deserves, here are some healthy screen habits to try as a family:

1. No phones in bedrooms – and yes, that includes the adults. Keeping devices out of reach makes it easier to switch off both literally and mentally.
2. Be mindful of evening content – anything too intense, scary, or overstimulating (especially for children) can make it harder to relax and fall asleep.
3. Create a shared evening wind-down routine – this could be reading with younger children, older kids reading to themselves, or even gentle hobbies like drawing or puzzles.
4. Use a lockable device box – keep all phones, tablets and remotes safely stashed away downstairs overnight.
5. Set a mental work curfew – aim to wrap up all work-related tasks at least an hour before bed to allow your mind to shift out of productivity mode.
6. Still struggling to unwind? Try a warm bath, calming music, journaling or a short, guided meditation. Breathing exercises can also be great—especially for kids who find bedtime tricky.
7. Swap scrolling for reading – keeping a real book by the bed gives your eyes and brain a break from blue light, and helps signal that it’s time to sleep.

Breaking the screen-sleep cycle isn’t easy, but with small steps and shared habits, it’s absolutely doable. Your future well-rested self will thank you.