Screen Time and Cognition
- Mar 31
- 6 min read
Written by: Dr. Ankit Sharma
Edited by: Nadia Hall
“A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.” – Dalai Lama
“My day starts with my phone, and my day ends with it”. This is a common point of discussion nowadays among friends and families. Even when travelling on public transport, you see many people scrolling on their phones. Additionally, parents often say a common phrase: “We don’t know what you get out of your phone that always keeps you stuck on it”.
In recent times, there has been a significant shift from onsite work and in-person education towards remote work, virtual education and learning. Not only adults but also children are now spending more time looking at screens. This slow but steady increase in screen time has raised concerns for the potential impact of high screen time on various physiological changes, including cognitive functions. So, is it unhealthy to spend so much time looking at screens? Or, are there benefits to increased screen time?
On the one hand, our increased dependency on electronic gadgets has made finishing our daily tasks easier, but on the other hand, it may make us less active mentally. Be it simple calculations or any other work, we often first approach our devices rather than giving it a try ourselves. A common phrase that we all have heard is “practice makes perfect”. In this case, our dependency on devices may limit our opportunities to carry out certain cognitive functions, leading to a decline in our cognitive abilities. This relates to the concept in neuroscience that “neurons that continuously fire together will wire together”, meaning if there is less use of those neurons, the synapse will eventually become weaker.
So, is there evidence for declined cognitive abilities among individuals with increased screen time? Screen time for teens has increased significantly over the years to approximately eight to nine hours of screen time per day (Thakur, 2026). Furthermore, in recent years there has been more research on whether high screen time has any impact on cognition in children. Data from a study by Muppalla et al. (2023) shows that high screen time in children enhances education and learning, but negatively impacts their sensorimotor development (wherein infants and children learn about their surroundings through seeing, hearing and touch). The study also shows that early exposure to screens during development is associated with lower cognitive abilities, poor academic performance, and poor language development later in life. Similarly, a negative correlation between screen time and cognitive performance was found in a 2025 study by Shambhavee et al. Recent understanding of increased screen time during childhood suggests that it may also be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Liu et al., 2023). Additionally, a meta-analysis conducted by Dams et al. (2023) summarizing results from 10 independent studies concluded that the majority of the studies found increased screen time in children to be associated with cognitive decline.
If teens and children are negatively affected by increased screen time, does the same apply for adults? Or after a certain age, are individuals unaffected by or able to somehow negate the effects of high screen time? According to reports, the average screen time for adults was 10 hours per day before COVID-19, which increased to 16 hours per day during the COVID-19 pandemic (Pandy A & Lodha P, 2021). Given how much time adults spend on their devices, are there any ill effects of high screen time in adults? A meta-analysis by Haleha R. and Roque N. (2025) highlighted that in adults, active screen use (including gaming, coding, and problem-solving) was generally associated with better cognitive outcomes, whereas passive screen time (including scrolling, watching TV, and binge-watching) was associated with poor verbal memory and global cognitive decline. Furthermore, adults who use screens for more than six hours per day have a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and mood disorder (Devi & Singh, 2023). Additionally, a 2024 study by Xu et al. found that watching TV for over five hours per day was associated with higher risk of dementia and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Findings from this study also revealed structural changes in the brain wherein reduced volume of grey matter and the hippocampus (region of the brain involved in memory) was suspected (Xu et al., 2024).
Studies done both on youth as well as adults demonstrate the negative impacts of high screen time on cognitive functioning. Now an obvious question is why? Why does excessive screen time negatively impact individuals?
One negative impact that excessive screen time can have on an individual is changes in his/her sleep patterns and other body rhythms, wherein an individual goes to sleep later in the night. Nakshine et al. (2022) proposed that excessive screen time makes it harder to go to sleep at the intended hour, resulting in sleep loss and mental fatigue, which can directly impact cognitive functioning. Furthermore, exposure to screens’ light during nighttime can delay the release of melatonin (a hormone known to initiate sleep), which impacts sleep cycles. High screen time can also reduce grey matter in different regions of the brain that can further impact the physiology of an individual (Xu et al., 2024).
Increased screen time may also directly or indirectly impact the individual’s eating habits. For example, some individuals tend to eat unhealthy food or binge eat while watching a screen. Additionally, individuals may find it difficult to eat properly while occupied with watching and playing games (Rocka et al., 2022). Such changes not only impact the immediate health of the individual but may also jeopardize the individual’s brain functioning in the long run due to poor nutritional habits. Reduced social exposure due to more time spent on screens rather than socializing, can also feed into these changes.
Given all of these potential negative impacts of excessive screen time, are there any practices that individuals can engage in to mitigate the impact of high screen time? To support cognitive enhancement, a Stanford Lifestyle Medicine blog post recommends avoiding screen time for at least the first few hours of the day (Descourouez, 2024). Spending the morning exercising and eating a healthy breakfast instead can improve cognitive functioning and overall health. Engaging in healthy discussions, reading books, and spending time outside are more ways to cut down screen time significantly and can also improve health.
Therefore, although excessive screen time is common and can have negative effects on health and cognitive functioning in both children and adults, limiting screen time can allow people to balance the usefulness of devices with the benefits of experiences that can only be had off-screen.
References
Becton, B. (2025, May 13). Too much screen time is robbing us of being human. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/too-much-screen-time-robbing-us-being-human-bret-becton-z1iyc
Dams, C., Kubin, L., & Humphrey, J. (2023). Screen technology exposure and infant cognitive development: A scoping review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 69, e97-e104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2022.12.013
Descourouez, M. G. (2024, May 30). What excessive screen time does to the adult brain. Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu/what-excessive-screen-time-does-to-the-adult-brain/
Devi, K. A., & Singh, S. K. (2023). The hazards of excessive screen time: Impacts on physical health, mental health, and overall well-being. Journal of education and health promotion, 12, 413. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_447_23
Haleha, R., & Roque, N. (2025). From screens to cognition: A scoping review of the impact of screen time on cognitive function in midlife and older adults. Digital Health, 11, 20552076251343989. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251343989
Liu, H., Chen, X., Huang, M., Yu, X., Gan, Y., Wang, J., Chen, Q., Nie, Z., & Ge, H (2023). Screen time and childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis. Rev Environ Health.39(4):643-650. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2022-0262. PMID: 37163581.
Muppalla, S. K., Vuppalapati, S., Pulliahgaru, A. R., & Sreenivasulu, H. (2023). Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management. Cureus, 15(6), e40608. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40608
Nakshine, V. S., Thute, P., Khatib, M. N., & Sarkar, B. (2022). Increased Screen Time as a Cause of Declining Physical, Psychological Health, and Sleep Patterns: A Literary Review. Cureus, 14(10), e30051. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30051
Pandya, A., & Lodha, P. (2021). Social Connectedness, Excessive Screen Time During COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of Current Evidence. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 3, 684137. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2021.684137
Rocka, A., Jasielska, F., Madras, D., Krawiec, P., & Pac-Kożuchowska, E. (2022). The Impact of Digital Screen Time on Dietary Habits and Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents. Nutrients, 14(14), 2985. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142985
Shambhavee, K., Vinod, C., & Kartik, M (2025). Correlation Between Screen Time and Cognitive Development in Children. International Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Research. 6(5):1323-1329.
Thakur, T. (2026, Jan 20). Screen Time by Age Group Statistics 2026: Who’s Watching More and Why. (https://techrt.com/screen-time-by-age-group-statistics/ )
Xu, C., Cao, Z., Lu, Z., Hou, Y., Wang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2024). Associations between Recreational Screen Time and Brain Health in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Large Prospective Cohort Study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 25(8), 104990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.03.010
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