This is the worst app to go on before bed, research finds

7 January 2022, 17:05

By Alice Dear

@According2Al

New research has revealed which apps on your phone are damaging your sleep quality the most, and it's bad news if you like TikTok.

In this digital age, our lives revolve around screens – phone screens, laptop screens, tablet screens, screens in our cars and even screens instead of books.

Taking this into consideration, it is no wonder so many of us are struggling to maintain a healthy sleep pattern.

In fact, a massive 78 per cent of people go on their phones in the last hour before they go to sleep.

And while avoiding all phone usage before bed is recommended, there are some apps that are causing more disruption to our sleep than others.

• The top 10 'worst places' to live in England 2022 have been revealed
• Pouring milk first makes the ideal cup of tea, research shows
• Study finds children inherit intelligence from their mums

A new study of 2,012 adults by Sleep Junkie has revealed exactly which apps are ruining your sleep pattern – and keeping you awake for longer.

The main culprit? TikTok.

TikTok is a video streaming app which allows users to scroll through short videos related to the things they love the most – animals, cars, pranks, dancing. You name it, and it's on there.

And with the app recently reaching over a billion users, there's obviously something people are loving about it.

However, the research found people who used TikTok before bed took over an hour longer than the average person to fall asleep.

They also found that users spent 14 per cent of their time in the REM phase of sleep, which is half the amount recommended for a healthy adult.

In second place as the most disruptive app was Instagram, followed by Snapchat. You can find the top five here:

App & average amount of time it takes to fall asleep after use

• TikTok - 1 hour, 7 minutes
• Instagram - 58 minutes
• Snapchat - 56 minutes
• Twitter - 50 minutes
• Facebook - 45 minutes

According to Sleep Junkie (and basically every other sleep expert), you should avoid electronics for at least two hours before you hit the hay.

You want to do this in order to take your eyes away from the blue light emitted from your devices, blue light which stimulated to brain and makes you more alert.

Dorothy Chambers, a sleep expert at Sleep Junkie, said: “This past year people have been struggling to sleep more than ever, and with 78% of adults admitting to partaking in revenge sleep procrastination, it’s no surprise sleep hygiene has taken a hit.

"There is a lot of information online around the best ways to fall asleep, but it seems that using social media apps is preventing many of us from getting the rest we need.

“We hope that our research provides more of an insight into some of our worst pre-sleep habits, and maybe encourages members of the public to put down their phone and quit scrolling so they can wake up feeling refreshed and energised.”