Understanding Links Between Social Media Use, Sleep and Mental Health: Recent Progress and Current Challenges

Abstract

Purpose of Review: Sleep and mental health researchers are increasingly recognising the need to update our approaches to understanding the unique social, emotional and cognitive aspects of social media use, rather than simply considering it as just another hour of total daily “screen time”. In this review, we highlight some recent developments in this area, discuss ongoing challenges facing this field and offer recommendations for future steps. Recent Findings: The sleep and mental health research literatures have made recent advances towards a more nuanced understanding of social media use: moving beyond a focus on simply duration of use, towards new insights into the role of content, context and experience of these online interactions. Summary: As this research area moves forward, a focus on high-quality measurement—combined with collaborative multidisciplinary approaches that triangulate insight from different methodologies and perspectives—can inform a more holistic understanding of sleep and mental health in today’s connected world.