Digital Balance: Screen Time for Young People and Toddlers

From the earliest years of life through to adolescence, digital technology plays an increasingly central role in shaping children’s daily experiences. At Queen Mary University of London, researchers are leading the way in developing a nuanced, evidence-based understanding of how digital media influences children and young peoples’ sleep, mental health and wellbeing. 

Bedtime Boost

Poor sleep in early childhood is widely linked to a range of negative outcomes, including difficulties with health, development and behaviour. At the same time, the use of screen media such as televisions, tablets and smartphones among toddlers has increased significantly over the past decade. Despite this, there has been limited experimental evidence showing how screen use before bed directly affects sleep in very young children.  

Through the Bedtime Boost study, the world’s first randomised controlled trial to provide robust evidence in paediatric advice on screentime use before bedtime, Queen Mary University of London academics addressed this gap and investigated the impact of screen-free bedtime routines on sleep quality and attention in infants and toddlers. 

Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the study was led by Professor Rachael Bedford from Queen Mary, in collaboration with researchers from the University of the Arts London, Birkbeck, the University of Bath and King’s College London. 

The study involved 105 families with toddlers aged between 16 and 30 months, all of whom routinely used screens as part of their child’s bedtime routine. The intervention group were instructed to eliminate all screen time in the hour preceding bedtime, while the control group continued with their usual bedtime routine. 

Findings showed that parents in the intervention group were able to successfully reduce screen use before bed, replacing it with calming, non-screen activities such as reading, puzzles or quiet play, in the hour before bedtime. Crucially, toddlers in this group experienced improvements in sleep quality, including more efficient sleep and fewer night-time awakenings. These results provided early causal evidence that removing screen exposure before bedtime can have measurable benefits for toddler sleep. 

A family‑friendly setting for early years research  

The researchers carry out their studies in the family-friendly Queen Mary Child Development Lab facility, which has a reception featuring a play area with toys for infants and young children, baby-changing facilities and elevator access for pushchairs. 

The Bedtime Boost intervention of removing screens one hour before bedtime was co-designed with parents and early years professionals to ensure it was low-cost, practical and easy to implement within everyday family routines. The high completion rate among participating families suggested that screen-free bedtime approaches are both feasible and acceptable for parents. 

Overall, the Bedtime Boost study highlights the importance of bedtime routines in early childhood and provides clear evidence that small, achievable changes—such as reducing screen use before sleep—can make a meaningful difference to toddlers’ sleep and wellbeing.

Beyond bedtime: supporting digital wellbeing in adolescence  

In addition to the Bedtime Boost study, academics from Queen Mary are exploring the impact of screen time on children and young people in other ways.  

For example, the Dynamic Interplay of Online Risk and Resilience in Adolescence (DIORA) study is a research collaboration that brought Queen Mary academics together with researchers from other UK universities to explore current narratives around screen time metrics.   

As well as examining the impact of screen use on toddler sleep, the DIORA Study explored online risk, resilience and wellbeing in adolescence, and how online activities shape the mental health and wellbeing of young people. 

The study aimed to provide a more holistic understanding of young people’s digital lives. Findings showed that online experiences are deeply interwoven with young people’s mental health, affecting them in both positive and negative ways. The research highlighted several strategies young people already use to manage their wellbeing online, such as seeking positive content, blocking or reporting harmful interactions, and taking breaks from social media. 

Rather than focusing solely on reducing screen time, the study found that carefully designed interventions could build on these existing behaviours. By strengthening media literacy and helping young people recognise and understand their emotional responses to different types of content, support strategies can promote resilience and wellbeing in the digital age—without relying on restriction alone. 

To share the findings in an accessible way, the DIORA team created a series of short animations, which translate the research into bite-sized, practical tips and highlights the importance of achieving digital balance. 

Watch the Digital Balance Animations here.

From Limits to Lifelong Habits: Helping Children Build Healthier Digital Lives