J. Sleep Res.

(2011) 20, 569–575 Insomnia

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00913.x

The relationship between media use in the bedroom, sleep habits

and symptoms of insomnia
GEIR SCOTT BRUNBORG1, RUNE AUNE MENTZONI1, HELGE MOLDE1,
H E L G A M Y R S E T H 1 , K N U T J O A C H I M M Å R S K O U V E R Ø E 1 , B J Ø R N
B J O R V A T N 2 , 3 and S T Å L E P A L L E S E N 1 , 2
1
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 2Norwegian Competence Center for Sleep Disorders, University of
Bergen, Bergen, Norway and 3Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Accepted in revised form 26 January 2011; received 13 April 2010

SUMMARY This postal questionnaire study investigated the use of media in the bedroom and its
relationships with sleep habits and symptoms of insomnia. The sample comprised 2500
individuals aged 16–40 years drawn randomly from the Norwegian national register.
A total of 816 (34.0%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Respondents were
asked how often they used computers, television sets, DVD players, game consoles and
mobile telephones and listened to music ⁄ radio in their bedrooms. They also reported
sleep habits on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off and symptoms of insomnia. After
controlling for gender, age, anxiety and depression, the respondents who used a
computer in the bedroom ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ rose later on weekdays and at
weekends ⁄ days off, turned off the lights to go to sleep later at weekends ⁄ days off, slept
more hours at weekends ⁄ days off and had a greater discrepancy between turning off the
lights to go to sleep on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off. Respondents who used a
mobile telephone in their bedrooms at night ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ turned off the
lights to go to sleep later on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, and rose later at
weekends ⁄ days off. No such differences were found with the use of the other media.
There were also no significant differences in symptoms of insomnia. This study indicates
that the use of computers and mobile telephones in the bedroom are related to poor
sleep habits, but that media use in the bedroom seems to be unrelated to symptoms of
insomnia.
keywords anxiety, bedroom, depression, insomnia, media use, sleep habits

investigate whether media use is related to poor sleep habits

INTRODUCTION
With the increase in use of various electronic media, such as
television, computers, video games, mobile telephones and
audio devices, it is becoming increasingly important to
investigate how media use is affecting individualsÕ lifestyles.
One important avenue for research on this topic is to
Correspondence: Geir Scott Brunborg, Department of Psychosocial
science, University of Bergen, Christiesgt. 12, 5015 Bergen, Norway.
Tel: +47 55 58 32 90; fax: +47 55 58 98 79; e-mail: geir.brunborg@
psysp.uib.no
and symptoms of insomnia.
Most of the sparse research on the relationship between
media use and sleep has focused on the effect of media use on
sleep among children and adolescents. It has been found that
children with a television set in their bedrooms go to bed later
on both weekdays and at weekends, and spend fewer hours in
bed on weekdays, compared to children who do not have a
television set in their bedrooms. Also, children with a gaming
console in their bedrooms go to bed later at weekends and
spend fewer hours in bed on weekdays, compared to children
without a gaming console in their bedrooms (Van Den Bulck,

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570 G. S. Brunborg et al.

2004). The same tendency has been found with the use of
METHODS
mobile telephones. Research has shown that the more children
used their mobile telephones after lights out, the more likely Participants
they were to feel tired at 1-year follow-up (Van Den Bulck,
A representative sample comprising 2500 Norwegians between
2007). Among adolescents, the amount of time spent multi-
the ages of 16 (including 15-year-olds who turned 16 that year)
tasking in late evenings, including media use (television, mobile
and 40 years were selected randomly from the national register.
telephone, online computer use, computer games, listening to
Anonymous self-report questionnaires were distributed to the
music) has been found to be related negatively to the number
sample by postal mail. Respondents had the option of
of hours of sleep obtained on school nights (Calamaro et al.,
completing the questionnaire on paper and returning it in an
2009).
enclosed prepaid envelope, or completing the questionnaire
Very few studies have investigated the association between
online. Due to failure to locate addresses, 101 questionnaires
media use and sleep in adults. One study found that the more
were returned by the postal service. A total of 816 question-
hours adults spent watching television and using the internet
naires were completed and returned, yielding a response rate of
before sleep, the more likely they were to report insufficient
34.0%. The participants consisted of 56.1% women and 43.9%
sleep (Suganuma et al., 2007). However, a different study
men. Mean age was 27.9 [standard deviation (SD) = 7.4] years.
found that good sleepers and poor sleepers did not differ on
The study was approved by the Regional Committees for
the average number of days per week they watched television
Medical and Health Research Ethics in western Norway.
in bed (Gellis and Lichstein, 2009). Because of such inconsis-
tent findings, and because of the scarcity of studies investigat-
ing the relationship between media use and sleep among Measures
adults, more research is warranted.
Media use
In addition to having focused mainly on children and
adolescents, studies in the field have also often neglected to Participants were asked to indicate how often they used a
control for variables which may be related to media use, sleep computer in their bedrooms, watched television in their
habits and symptoms of insomnia, such as gender, age, anxiety bedrooms, used a DVD player in their bedrooms, used a
and depression. For example, research on adolescents has game console in their bedrooms, used a mobile telephone in
shown that girls generally talk more on the telephone and use their bedrooms at night and listened to music ⁄ radio in bed.
online instant messaging more often than boys, while boys Participants responded on a scale which contained the
play video games more often than girls (Ohannessian, 2009). following alternatives: Ôevery dayÕ, Ô4–6 days per weekÕ,
It is well documented that women have a greater risk of Ô2–3 days per weekÕ, Ô1 day per weekÕ, Ô1–3 days per monthÕ,
insomnia compared to men (Ford and Kamerow, 1989; Ômore rarely than 1 day per monthÕ and ÔneverÕ. Table 1 shows
Sivertsen et al., 2009; Zhang and Wing, 2006). The relation- the percentages of use of all types of media.
ship between insomnia and depression and anxiety is also well
established (Taylor et al., 2005). In several studies, age has
Sleep habits
been associated with sleep habits and insomnia. Adolescents
and young adults seem to have a greater general preference for Participants indicated at what hour they switched off the lights
staying up late and to rise late (Roenneberg et al., 2004). The and tried to go to sleep on weekdays, at what hour they usually
prevalence rate of insomnia increases with age (Sivertsen et al.,
2009). Media use may also be more prevalent in younger
compared to older adults (Suganuma et al., 2007). Based on Table 1 Percentages for use of each media type in the bedroom for
these findings, gender, age, anxiety and depression should all respondents
consequently be controlled for in studies of the relationship
Frequency Computer TV DVD Games Mobile Music
between media use and sleep, as they may be possible
confounders. Never 48.0 75.2 75.9 91.5 26.0 44.9
In this study we investigated the relationship between media <1 day 11.3 3.3 8.6 2.5 9.1 14.0
use and sleep habits and symptoms of insomnia in a random- per month
ized sample of Norwegians aged 16–40 years. We investigated 1–3 days 5.9 3.2 5.7 1.7 6.0 7.1
whether use of computers, television, DVD players, video per month
game consoles, mobile telephones and audio devices in the 1 day 4.7 2.0 2.8 0.7 3.9 5.4
bedroom would be associated with the time at which respon- per week
dents went to bed on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, 2–3 days 5.5 4.2 2.6 0.9 5.2 7.5
when they rose on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, the per week
number of hours of sleep they had on weekdays and at 4–6 days 5.8 3.2 1.5 0.5 7.0 7.5
weekends ⁄ days off, the differences between getting up and per week
going to sleep on weekdays versus at weekends ⁄ days off, as Every day 18.7 9.0 3.0 2.2 42.7 13.5
well as with symptoms of insomnia.

 2011 European Sleep Research Society, J. Sleep Res., 20, 569–575

 Media use in the bedroom and sleep 571

got up on weekdays, how many hours of sleep they usually had
per day on weekdays, at what hour they switched off the lights
and tried to go to sleep at weekends ⁄ days off, at what hour
they usually got up at weekends ⁄ days off, and how may hours
of sleep they usually had per day at weekends ⁄ days off.
Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS)
BIS (Pallesen et al., 2008) measures symptoms of insomnia
using six items on which participants indicate how many days
per week during the last month they experienced problems
with different aspects of sleep. Internal consistency (Cron-
bachÕs alpha) for the BIS scale in this study was 0.83. The total
composite score ranged from 0 to 42.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (HADS)
HADS (Zigmond and Snaith, 1983) measures anxiety (seven
items) and depression (seven items). On each item participants
indicate which of four response alternatives (ranging from 0
to 3) they agree mostly with concerning statements about non-
vegetative symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, each
scale yields a score ranging from 0 to 21. Internal consistency
(CronbachÕs alpha) in this study was 0.73 for the anxiety
subscale and 0.77 for the depression subscale.
The participants were also asked to provide information
about their gender and age.
Statistics
PearsonÕs product–moment correlation coefficients were
calculated for relationships between continuous variables,
point-biserial correlations coefficients were calculated for
relationships between dichotomous variables and continuous
variables, and phi-coefficients were calculated for relationships
between dichotomous variables.
Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted in
order to investigate how media use was associated with sleep
habits and symptoms of insomnia. For each sleep variable,
gender, age, depression and anxiety were entered into the first
step of the regression analysis. In the second step, computer
use, TV watching, DVD use, game-playing, mobile telephone
use and listening to music were added.
RESULTS
Background variables and media use
Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations between back-
ground and media use variables are presented in Table 2.
Gender was correlated negatively with using a game console in
the bedroom but positively with using a mobile telephone in
the bedroom. Age was correlated negatively with all kinds of
media use (computer, watching television, using a DVD
player, using a game console, using a mobile telephone and
listening to music) in the bedroom. Anxiety was correlated
positively with using a computer, using a DVD player, using a
mobile telephone and listening to music ⁄ radio in the bedroom.
Finally, depression was correlated positively with using a DVD
player in the bedroom.

The data were analysed using Predictive Analytics SoftWare

(PASW) Statistics release version 17.0 for Windows (SPSS Background variables and sleep
Inc., 2009). Gender was coded 1 = men, and 2 = women. All
Mean time for turning off the lights or to go to sleep was
media variables were dichotomized because they failed to show
23:20 hours (SD = 55.1 min) on weekdays, and 00:42 hours
normal distributions. The first category was named ÔrarelyÕ,
(SD = 81.1 min) at weekends ⁄ days off. The mean rise time
and comprised the response alternatives Ô1 day per weekÕ,
was 07:03 hours (SD = 65.3 min) on weekdays and 09:38
Ô1–3 days per monthÕ, Ômore rarely than 1 day per monthÕ and
hours (SD = 97.9 min) at weekends ⁄ days off. The respon-
ÔneverÕ. The second category was named ÔoftenÕ, and comprised
dents slept for an average of 07:06 hours (SD = 1.11 h) per
the response alternatives Ôevery dayÕ, Ô4–6 days per weekÕ and
night on weekdays, and 08:47 hours (SD = 1.47 h) per night
Ô2–3 days per weekÕ.

Table 2 Means, standard deviations (SD) and intercorrelations between background variables and media use

Variable Mean (SD) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Gender  Female n = 458, male n = 358 –

Age 27.86 (7.36) )0.06 –
Anxiety 5.04 (3.05) 0.06 )0.12** –
Depression 2.96 (2.94) )0.08* 0.03 0.58** –
Computer ÔrarelyÕ n = 568, ÔoftenÕ n = 244 )0.06 )0.51** 0.11** 0.03 –
TV ÔrarelyÕ n = 680, ÔoftenÕ n = 133 )0.01 )0.29** 0.04 0.03 0.37** –
DVD ÔrarelyÕ n = 758, ÔoftenÕ n = 57 )0.06 )0.20** 0.08** 0.07* 0.22** 0.53** –
Games ÔrarelyÕ n = 782, ÔoftenÕ n = 29 )0.11** )0.19** 0.01 0.04 0.21** 0.29** 0.44** –
Mobile ÔrarelyÕ n = 366, ÔoftenÕ n = 446 0.12** )0.23** 0.06 0.00 0.19** 0.15** 0.12** 0.04 –
Music ÔrarelyÕ n = 581, ÔoftenÕ n = 232 0.03 )0.37** 0.10** 0.00 0.43** 0.22** 0.18** 0.19** 0.20**
 
Gender was coded 1 = male, 2 = female.
*P <0.05; **P <0.01.

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572 G. S. Brunborg et al.
at weekends ⁄ days off. The mean insomnia (BIS) score for the
respondents was 11:02 hours (SD = 8.35).
The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses are
shown in Table 3. Women turned off the lights earlier on
weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, and rose earlier at
weekends ⁄ days off compared to men. Women also reported
higher levels of insomnia symptoms than men. There was a
negative association between age and the following variables:
time for turning off the lights at weekends ⁄ days off, time rising
from bed at weekends ⁄ days off, hours of sleep both on
weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off and the magnitude of the
discrepancy between weekdays and weekends ⁄ days off con-
cerning time for turning off the lights and rising.
Anxiety was associated positively with the time at which the
respondents turned off the lights on weekdays, rise time on
weekdays and symptoms of insomnia. Anxiety was associated
negatively with hours of sleep on weekdays. Depression was
associated negatively with sleep duration on weekdays, and
associated positively with symptoms of insomnia.
Media use and sleep
On average, the respondents who used a computer in the
bedroom ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ rose later on weekdays
[07:09 hours, standard error (SE) = 7.0 min versus
06:51 hours (SE = 7.3 minutes)] and at weekends ⁄ days off
(10:05 hours, SE = 9.8 min versus 09:41 hours, SE = 9.4
min), turned off the lights to go to sleep later at weekends ⁄
days off (00:56 hours, SE = 8.8 min versus 00:34 hours,
SE = 8.5 min), slept longer at weekends ⁄ days off (08:38
hours, SE = 9.6 min versus 08:20 hours, SE = 9.3 min) and
had a greater discrepancy between turning off the lights to go
to sleep on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off (01:37 hours,
SE = 6.9 min versus 01:21 hours, SE = 6.6 min). On aver-
age, the respondents who used a mobile telephone in the
bedroom at night ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ turned off the
lights to go to sleep later on weekdays (23:24 hours, 5.6 min)
versus 23:07 hours, SE = 5.9 min) and at weekends ⁄ days off
(00:53 hours, SE = 8.1 versus 00:36 hours, SE = 8.5) and
rose later at weekends ⁄ days off (10:04 hours, SE = 9.0 min
versus 09:43 hours, SE = 9.4 min). There was no difference
between the ÔoftenÕ and ÔrarelyÕ groups concerning TV use,
DVD player use, game console use and listening to music ⁄
radio in bed in terms of sleep habits. Finally, there were no
significant associations between the use of any of the media in
the bedroom ÔoftenÕ and ÔrarelyÕ and symptoms of insomnia.
DISCUSSION
The results showed that men used game consoles in the
bedroom significantly more often than did women. This
finding is in line with previous research which has shown that
men in general are more likely to play games compared to
women (Lucas and Sherry, 2004). Hence, our finding concern-
ing gender differences in bedroom behaviours in terms of
game-playing is interpreted as a reflection of the general male
preponderance in game-playing. Women, on the other hand,
used mobile telephones in the bedroom more often than men.
This is in line with the finding that young women have a
greater rate of talking on the telephone far into the night
compared to young men (Suganuma et al., 2007). Previous
studies have also found that adolescent girls in general talk
more on the telephone than boys (Ohannessian, 2009).
Age was associated negatively with use of all media in the
bedroom. This is consistent with previous research (Lucas and
Sherry, 2004; Suganuma et al., 2007), and is probably a result
of a cohort effect with regard to electronic media use (Palfrey
and Gasser, 2008). It is also probably the case that younger
adults are more likely to have media devices in their bedrooms
than somewhat older adults.
The respondents who used a computer or a DVD player
and listened to music in the bedroom ÔoftenÕ reported higher
levels of anxiety compared to respondents who used those
media in the bedroom ÔrarelyÕ. A possible explanation for this
is that individuals with high anxiety levels use media as a
behavioural distraction to ease uncomfortable thoughts at
night (Ree et al., 2005). Depression was correlated positively
with using a DVD player in the bedroom. This may also be
because depressed individuals watch movies or TV series at
night as a means of self-distraction to help them fall asleep
(Ree et al., 2005).
The results showed that women reported that they turned off
the lights earlier on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, and
rose earlier at weekends ⁄ days off compared to men. This is
consistent with findings that women prefer to wake up and go
to bed earlier than do men (Adan and Natale, 2002). No gender
difference was found for rise time on weekdays, however. This
is probably because rise time on weekdays is controlled by
external factors to a greater degree (e.g. work regulations)
compared to at weekends ⁄ days off. Women also reported
more symptoms of insomnia than did men, which is consistent
with previous findings (Ford and Kamerow, 1989; Sivertsen
et al., 2009; Zhang and Wing, 2006). Age was associated
negatively with time for turning off the lights at weekends ⁄
days off, rise time at weekends ⁄ days off, hours sleep on both
weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, and the magnitude of the
discrepancy between weekdays and weekends ⁄ days off con-
cerning time for turning off the lights and rising. These results
are consistent with previous findings showing that very young
adults have a later mid-point for sleep than somewhat older
adults (Roenneberg et al., 2004). The current study, however,
found no significant relationship between age and symptoms
of insomnia. This runs counter to studies which have shown
that the prevalence of insomnia increases with age (Sivertsen
et al., 2009). The reason for this disparity in findings is due
probably to the fact that the age span in our study was
relatively restricted.
Both anxiety and depression were associated with poor sleep
habits and symptoms of insomnia. This has also been found in
numerous studies (Ford and Kamerow, 1989; Sivertsen et al.,
2009; Taylor et al., 2005), and underlines the point that anxiety
and depression should be controlled for in studies of media use
 2011 European Sleep Research Society, J. Sleep Res., 20, 569–575
 Table 3 Hierarchical multiple regression of background variables and media use predicting sleep habits and insomnia

Lights off Rise time Lights off Rise time Hours of sleep Hours of sleep Weekday–weekend Weekday–weekend Symptoms of
weekdays weekdays weekends weekends weekdays weekends difference lights off difference rise time insomnia

b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change b R2 change

Step 1

Gender 1 = male, )0.156*** 0.030*** )0.017 0.040*** )0.144*** 0.108*** )0.066* 0.243*** 0.052 0.070*** )0.019 0.084*** )0.052 0.128*** )0.054 0.155*** 0.102** 0.277***
2 = female
Age )0.028 )0.151*** )0.299*** )0.482*** )0.201*** )0.280*** )0.360*** )0.396*** )0.020

Anxiety 0.109* 0.112* 0.037 0.034 )0.097* )0.012 )0.041 0.044 0.305***

Depression )0.087* 0.005 )0.010 0.062 )0.097* )0.073 0.051 0.060 0.274***

Step 2

Gender )0.174*** 0.032*** )0.018 0.019* )0.146*** 0.031*** )0.064* 0.032*** 0.058 0.002 )0.013 0.010 )0.040 0.015* )0.052 0.016** 0.094** 0.005

 2011 European Sleep Research Society, J. Sleep Res., 20, 569–575

Age 0.034 )0.080 )0.195*** )0.370*** )0.187*** )0.225*** )0.279*** )0.331*** 0.002

Anxiety 0.094* 0.099* 0.021 0.025 )0.094* )0.017 )0.048 )0.044 0.299***

Depression )0.079 0.011 )0.006 0.059 )0.099* )0.072 )0.049 0.054 0.278***

Computer, 0.049 0.124** 0.124** 0.105** 0.033 0.094* 0.115** 0.019 0.008
1 = ÔrarelyÕ,
2 = ÔoftenÕ
TV, 1 = ÔrarelyÕ, )0.040 )0.043 )0.010 0.037 0.022 0.018 0.023 0.070 )0.007
2 = ÔoftenÕ
DVD, 1 = ÔrarelyÕ, 0.009 0.002 )0.005 )0.011 )0.035 )0.055 )0.015 )0.012 0.007
2 = ÔoftenÕ
Games, 1 = ÔrarelyÕ, )0.038 )0.029 )0.009 0.033 0.032 0.013 0.019 0.054 )0.029
2 = ÔoftenÕ
Mobile, 1 = ÔrarelyÕ, 0.156*** 0.067 0.103** 0.105** )0.013 0.005 0.002 0.060 0.052
2 = ÔoftenÕ
Music, 1 = ÔrarelyÕ, 0.056 0.031 0.066 0.054 )0.017 0.029 0.039 0.033 0.036
2 = ÔoftenÕ
Modell R2 0.061*** 0.058*** 0.139*** 0.275*** 0.072*** 0.095*** 0.143*** 0.171*** 0.282***

*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.

Media use in the bedroom and sleep
573
574 G. S. Brunborg et al.
and sleep. After controlling for gender, age, anxiety and
depression, respondents who used a computer in their
bedrooms ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ reported more variabil-
ity in their sleep schedules. They rose later on weekdays and at
weekends ⁄ days off, turned off the lights to go to sleep later at
weekends ⁄ days off, slept more hours at weekends ⁄ days off and
had a greater discrepancy between turning off the lights to go
to sleep on weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off. Previous
findings have also shown that computer use at night is
associated with poor sleep habits among adults. It has been
suggested that computer use in the evening ⁄ night postpones
going to bed (Suganuma et al., 2007). It is also possible that
computer use induces pre-sleep cognitive activity, which may
have an alerting effect (Harvey, 2000). Using a computer in the
bedroom ÔoftenÕ was, however, not associated with an increase
or decrease in the number of hours respondents slept on
weekdays, nor was it related to symptoms of insomnia.
Similarly, respondents who reported using a mobile telephone
in the bedroom at night ÔoftenÕ compared to ÔrarelyÕ also
reported that they turned off the lights to go to sleep later on
weekdays and at weekends ⁄ days off, and rose later at
weekends ⁄ days off. However, they did not report more or
fewer hours of sleep on weekdays or at weekends ⁄ days off, or
more symptoms of insomnia.
In summary, it seems that the use of computers and mobile
telephones, particularly, in the bedroom is associated with
poor sleep habits, as variation in sleep–wake schedules are
likely to have detrimental effects on both sleep quality and
wakefulness during the day (Dijk and Czeisler, 1995; Stepnaski
and Wyatt, 2003; Wyatt et al., 1999). Hence, excessive use of
computers and mobile telephones in the bedroom may cause
delayed sleep phase. Studies have shown that delayed sleep
phase may impair academic and work performance, in
addition to social and family life (Alvarez et al., 1992).
Delayed sleep phase has further been linked with depression
(Kripke et al., 2006). Use of computers and mobile phones in
the bedroom might indirectly, therefore, impair health, social
and working ⁄ academic life. Further studies, preferably with
longitudinal designs, should be conducted in order to inves-
tigate these relationships more precisely.
There was no difference between watching television, using a
DVD player, playing games or listening to music ÔoftenÕ and
ÔrarelyÕ and sleep habits or symptoms of insomnia. It could be
the case that such media use does not provide sufficient
cognitive activation to curtail sleep onset (Harvey, 2000).
However, further research that considers the content and
activating properties of television programmes, movies, games
and music should be conducted in order to investigate further
the relationship between media use and sleep.
Strengths and limitations
The current study focused on the frequency of use of media,
and not volume, i.e. the duration of media use. This is an
important distinction, and care should be taken in generalizing
our findings from frequency of media use to volume of media
use. Frequency of media use may pertain more to the degree to
which respondents have a habit of using media in the
bedroom, while volume of media use may pertain more to
how much time the media use displaces. In addition, volume of
use may also be associated with the degree of cognitive
activation that individuals experience, which in turn may affect
sleep habits and ⁄ or insomnia. Future studies may therefore
benefit from measuring both frequency and volume of media
use in order to investigate their relative contributions to sleep
habits and insomnia.
The current study was based on a cross-sectional design,
hence no conclusions about cause and effects can be drawn.
Nevertheless, we controlled for gender, age, anxiety and
depression in the regression analysis, thereby precluding such
central confounders from influencing our findings. The
response rate was low, hence estimates of population param-
eters are associated with some uncertainty. However, several
studies have emerged showing that a low response rate does
not necessarily have a significant impact on the results (Curtin
et al., 2000; Keeter et al., 2006). It should also be noted that
the primary aim of the present study was to estimate
relationships between different parameters and it is assumed
that non-response has less influence on associations between
variables than estimates of a single population parameter
(Curtin et al., 2000). A strength of the current study is the
relatively high number of respondents. As far as we know, this
is the first study which has investigated the relationship
between media use in the bedroom and sleep habits and
insomnia in a general population sample.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study suggest that the use of computers and
mobile telephones in the bedroom, but not watching television,
using DVD players, using game consoles or listening to music
in the bedroom, may be associated with poor sleep habits
among adults, but not with symptoms of insomnia.
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