Screen time and sleep: what the research actually shows

Research published in 2025 by the Journal of Sleep Research found that using phones or tablets within 60 minutes of bedtime delays melatonin onset by an average of 27 minutes and shortens total sleep time by 42 minutes per night.

The finding carries weight in Ho Chi Minh City, where smartphone ownership among adults reached 87 percent last year and many workers finish shifts after 9 pm. Extended screen use at night now overlaps with the city’s growing wellness routines, turning what used to be wind-down time into continued stimulation.

Local routines under pressure

Morning exercise groups at Tao Dan Park still draw hundreds of residents at 5:30 am, yet many of those same participants report checking work messages on the way home from riverside cycling paths along Nguyen Hue Street. FV Hospital in Binh Thanh District recorded a 31 percent increase in sleep-clinic referrals between 2023 and 2025, with staff noting that most new patients cite late-night scrolling as a primary habit.

A 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Health Department survey of 2,400 adults showed 65 percent used screens after 10 pm on weekdays, and those respondents averaged 5.8 hours of sleep compared with 7.1 hours for the minority who switched devices off by 9 pm. The same data set linked each additional hour of pre-bed screen time to a 19 percent rise in reported daytime fatigue.

Small changes that fit city life

Clinicians at FV Hospital recommend setting a physical charging station outside the bedroom and switching phone displays to night mode no later than 8:30 pm. Residents who adopted both steps for two weeks reported falling asleep 18 minutes faster on average, according to follow-up calls logged by the hospital’s outpatient team. Local gyms near the riverfront have begun offering 15-minute wind-down classes at 8 pm that ban phones inside the studio, giving participants one structured hour without screens before heading home.