title: The effect of presleep video-game playing on adolescent sleep.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Video-game use before bedtime has been linked with poor sleep outcomes for adolescents; however, experimental evidence to support this link is sparse. The present study investigated the capacity of presleep video-game playing to extend sleep latency and reduce subjective feelings of sleepiness in adolescents. The arousing psychophysiologic mechanisms involved and the impact of presleep video-game playing on sleep architecture were also explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen male adolescent "evening types" (mean age = 16.6 years, SD = 1.1) participated in a counterbalanced, within-subjects design with experimental (active video gaming) and control (passive DVD watching) conditions. The experiment was conducted in the Flinders University Sleep Research Laboratory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Relative to the control condition, presleep video-game playing increased sleep-onset latency (Z= 2.45, p= .01) and reduced subjective sleepiness (Z = 2.36, p = .02)-but only slightly. Video gaming was related to changes in cognitive alertness (as measured by a power: p < 0.01) but not physiologic arousal (as measured by heart rate: p > 0.05). Contrary to previous findings, sleep architecture was unaffected (both rapid eye movement and slow wave sleep: p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest the direct effect of presleep video-game playing on adolescent sleep may be more modest than previously thought, suggesting that surveys linking stimulating presleep activities to poor sleep need substantiating with empirical evidence.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gradisar
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dohnt
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lovato
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Douglas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001143:Arousal; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003071:Cognition; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D004585:Electrooculography; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012894:Sleep Stages; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014851:Wakefulness
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