Is TikTok Bad for Sleep?

Our experts were recently asked if social media and specifically TikTok is bad for your sleep. Here’s a transcript of the interview with Dr. Julie Buchanan from Total Snooze.

Why is TikTok so addicting?

Nothing in life is free, and the same goes for social media. You may not pay to spend time on TikTok, Facebook, or Snapchat, but you’re still paying for your access through data and time. Both are valuable to social media platforms because advertisements keep these platforms running. The longer you’re on social media, the more advertisements you see.

Pair this with dopamine, and you will soon become addicted to watching TikTok. Every time you laugh, cry, or learn something, your brain is reacting. This miniature shot of dopamine gives you joy. The more you scroll, the more mini-brain moments you have, meaning you will soon become addicted.

How does TikTok/social media affect sleep?

It takes extra effort to get restful sleep anytime you get your mind going, especially when scrolling through content that sparks fear, anxiety, and wakes up the sympathetic fight-or-flight nervous system. Author Nestor James has written about how breathing calms our bodies and energy. Amping yourself up right before you go to bed has the opposite effect of calm, restful breathing, so when we hop on social media, we’re telling our bodies to stay awake instead of preparing for rest.

Active minds have a harder time sleeping, but one thing I see as a dentist is how breathing also impacts sleep. If your airways aren’t clear, you won’t sleep well, so it is important to understand why you’re scrolling late at night. If you’re bored, that is one thing. If you can’t fall asleep or keep waking up, you may have a medical issue that needs to be addressed.

What are some tips to reduce late-night scrolling?

There are generally two reasons why people scroll at night: they can’t sleep or don’t want to fall asleep yet. If you don’t want to go to sleep, you do you. If you’re trying to sleep, take deep breaths. Opening those airways will calm your body and prepare it for sleep. If you have issues breathing at night, see a medical professional, as you may be one of 25% of undiagnosed adults with sleep apnea.

Another tip is to create a bedtime ritual or routine by turning off screens an hour before bed. This signals to your body that it is time to sleep and builds a habit that prevents you from scrolling. Building a positive sleep habit may be hard at first, but it will improve your mental and physical health in the long term.

Is TikTok bad before bed?

Johann Hari has researched focus, and it emphasizes how social media steals our focus and makes it difficult to concentrate on our jobs and lives because of the focus habits we break as we scroll. We’ve all laid awake thinking. Jumping on social media has a similar effect. It steals our focus, weakens our brains, and signals that it isn’t time to sleep.

Can TikTok cause sleep deprivation?

TikTok as a company doesn’t cause you to lose sleep unless you’re the U.S. government, but the algorithm and act of using it can hook your attention. There’s a meme out there that has two people talking. The first person asks how to get better sleep, and the second person responds, “Go to bed eight hours before you have to wake up.” It is easy to be distracted by social media, but ultimately, that decision is yours. You’re the only one who can stop yourself from doom-scrolling.

Why is TikTok so addictive?

The bottom line is it is designed to be that way. Social media is addictive by design and you’ll notice influencers and others are reinforced to create content that keeps people on platform. The more you watch, the more content creators are rewarded and the platform is more likely to make money.