Evening Smartphone Use Leads to Less Productivity

Researchers suggest that late-evening smartphone use leads to a more restless sleep, which makes it more difficult to focus on work the following day.

February 13, 2014

NEW YORK – A new study by researchers from the University of Florida, Michigan State University and University of Washington reveals a reverse correlation between late-evening smartphone use and productivity the following day, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The researchers said reading and sending work email on a smartphone late at night makes it more difficult to get a sound night’s sleep, which exhausts workers by morning and makes it difficult for them to focus by the next afternoon.

“The benefit of smartphone use may…be offset by the inability of employees to fully recover from work activities while away from the office,” the researchers wrote.

One study found that work-related smartphone use in the evening led to fewer hours of sleep, depleted reserves of self-control, and a reduced ability to engage with work the following day.

A second study revealed that late-night tech use can disrupt sleep and next-day work engagement.

Using any kind of electronic device affects sleep quantity and focus the following day, but smartphones are especially draining because they are always on, said Christopher M. Barnes, an assistant professor of management at University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business and a co-author of the paper, which is forthcoming in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decisions Processes.

The researchers did not identify a particular threshold at which smartphone use begins to impact sleep, but Barnes said 30 minutes before bedtime can take a toll.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement