时文选读 | 睡前刷手机的隐性代价：一小时究竟如何偷走你的睡眠？

The Hidden Cost of Bedtime Screen Time: How One Hour Can Impact Your Sleep

六级偏难| 345词

刘立军供稿

Part I. Passage

Sleep experts have long emphasized the dangers of using smartphones in bed, and a new study provides compelling evidence about how harmful this habit can be.

According to research conducted among over 45,000 university students in Norway, spending just one hour on screens after bedtime is linked to a 59% higher risk of insomnia and an average reduction of 24 minutes in sleep duration.

Interestingly, the type of screen activity — whether scrolling through social media, watching movies, or studying — doesn’t seem to matter as much as the total time spent using screens in bed. Researchers attribute this to ‘time displacement,’ where screen usage delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting.

Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health stated, ‘We found no significant differences between social media and other screen activities, suggesting that screen use itself is the key factor in sleep disruption.’

This study highlights a growing disconnect between technology use and sleep hygiene among young adults. Despite widespread knowledge about sleep’s importance for mental and physical health, modern bedtime routines increasingly involve screens, apps, and notifications — keeping the brain alert long after lights out.

Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep specialist, further explains the potential physiological impact of bedtime screen use, especially activities like doomscrolling, which can trigger stress responses in the brain.

The research, based on data from the 2022 Students’ Health and Wellbeing survey, analyzed participants’ screen habits and their self-reported sleep metrics. These included average sleep duration, difficulty falling or staying asleep, daytime fatigue, and chronic sleep disturbances lasting three months or more.

The findings were clear: more screen time in bed correlated with poorer sleep quality and duration. Contrary to expectations, social media was not uniquely disruptive compared to other screen-based activities.

Hjetland summarized, ‘If screen use displaces time that could otherwise be used for sleep, this may explain the reduction in sleep duration.’

As sleep problems among students continue to rise, the study underscores the need for better awareness and practices to balance technology use with healthy sleep habits.

【词汇】

1. doomscroll v. 浏览大量负面消息  

Part II. Questions

Q1. What is the main idea of the text?

A. Social media is the primary cause of sleep problems in young adults.

B. Bedtime screen use has significant negative effects on sleep quality.

C. Sleep hygiene is more important than reducing screen time.

D. Modern technology has improved sleep habits among university students.

Q2. What is the main finding of the Norwegian study on bedtime screen use?

A. Screen use after bedtime causes a 59% higher risk of insomnia.

B. Social media is more harmful than other screen activities.

C. Screen use before bedtime improves sleep hygiene in young adults.

D. Watching movies before sleep has no impact on sleep quality.

Q3. What is the key reason screen use disrupts sleep, according to the researchers?

A. It triggers stress responses in the brain.

B. It leads to increased notifications and alerts at night.

C. It causes chronic sleep disturbances lasting months.

D. It displaces time that could be used for sleep.

Q4. What does Chelsie Rohrscheib suggest about doomscrolling before sleep?

A. It improves mental alertness during the day.

B. It reduces stress responses in the brain.

C. It triggers stress responses and affects sleep.

D. It helps people fall asleep more quickly.

Q5. What can be inferred about the impact of bedtime screen use on young adults?

A. It may lead to long-term sleep disorders if not addressed.

B. It has no significant effect on their academic performance.

C. It helps them relax before falling asleep.

D. It is less harmful than other nighttime habits.

Part III. KEY

Q1.【答案】B

【解析】主旨题。题目出处为：Sleep experts have long emphasized the dangers of using smartphones in bed, and a new study provides compelling evidence about how harmful this habit can be. 意为：“睡眠专家长期以来一直强调在床上使用智能手机的危害，而一项新研究则提供了有力证据，表明这一习惯究竟有多有害。” 文章主要讨论了睡前浏览各种电子屏幕对睡眠质量显著的负面影响，因此正确答案为B。

Q2. 【答案】A

【解析】细节题。题目出处为：… spending just one hour on screens after bedtime is linked to a 59% higher risk of insomnia and an average reduction of 24 minutes in sleep duration. 意为：“睡前仅在屏幕上花费一小时，就会使失眠风险增加59%，且平均睡眠时长会减少24分钟。”该句明确指出了挪威此项研究的主要发现，因此正确答案为A。

Q3. 【答案】D

【解析】细节题。题目出处为：Researchers attribute this to ‘time displacement,’ where screen usage delays sleep by taking up time that would otherwise be spent resting. 意为：“研究人员将其归因于‘时间置换’，即屏幕使用占用了本应用于休息的时间，从而推迟了睡眠。” 该句清晰地解释了使用屏幕对睡眠造成干扰的原因，因此正确答案为D。

Q4. 【答案】C

【解析】细节题。题目出处为：Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep specialist, further explains the potential physiological impact of bedtime screen use, especially activities like doomscrolling, which can trigger stress responses in the brain. 意为：“神经科学家兼睡眠专家切尔西·罗尔谢布进一步解释了睡前使用屏幕尤其是浏览负面信息等活动可能带来的生理影响，这类活动会触发大脑中的应激反应。” 该句明确指出浏览负面信息会触发应激反应并影响睡眠，因此正确答案为C。

Q5. 【答案】A

【解析】推理题。题目出处为：As sleep problems among students continue to rise, the study underscores the need for better awareness and practices to balance technology use with healthy sleep habits. 意为：“随着学生群体中睡眠问题的持续增加，该研究强调了提高意识、培养良好习惯的重要性，以在使用科技产品与健康睡眠之间取得平衡。” 由此可以推断，如果不加以解决，睡前使用屏幕可能会导致长期的睡眠问题，因此正确答案为A。

（本文图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有)