Episode 1 · Launch seriesRandomized clinical trialVideo coming soon⏱ 3:40 video · 📖 1 min read

No Screens in the Last Hour Made Toddlers Sleep Better

Pickard et al., JAMA Pediatrics, 2024 · Topics: Sleep · Phones & Screens

⚠ General information only — this page explains one study and isn't medical or parenting advice for your specific child.

Subscribe on YouTube ↗Read the paper (DOI) ↗

What's the short answer?

Removing screens in the hour before bed improved toddlers' sleep in a randomized trial — better sleep efficiency and fewer night wakings, measured objectively.

What did the study do?

A randomized clinical trial with 105 families of toddlers aged 16–30 months. For 7 weeks, families in the intervention group (PASTI) replaced screen time in the hour before bed with a bedtime box of reading and puzzles; sleep was measured objectively.

What did it find?

Removing screens in the last hour before bed produced small-to-medium improvements in objectively measured sleep efficiency and fewer night awakenings.
99% of families stayed in the trial and adherence was 94% — the swap was doable for real families.
There was no effect on objectively measured attention — the benefit was sleep, not attention.

What it didn't prove

Because this was a randomized trial, the sleep improvement can be described as caused by the screen-free hour, as the paper states it. But the trial found no attention benefit — so this paper doesn't support claims that a screen-free hour improves toddler attention.

🌙 One thing to try tonight

Build a bedtime box — books, puzzles, soft toys — and swap the last hour before bed from screens to the box, every night for a week.

Frequently asked questions

How old were the children?

16–30 months — toddlers. The findings speak to that age group, not older children.

What goes in a bedtime box?

In the trial, the box held books and puzzles for the last hour before bed. The strategy adds soft toys — anything calm, screen-free and repeatable nightly.

📄 The paper at a glance

“Toddler Screen Use Before Bed and Its Effect on Sleep and Attention: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Hannah Pickard, Petrina Chu, Claire Essex, Emily J. Goddard, Katie Baulcombe, Ben Carter, Rachael Bedford, Tim J. Smith. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(12), 1270-1279, 2024.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.3997 ↗ · Video: 3:40 · Coming soon to youtube.com/@ParentingByScience

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The takeaway

One hour, swapped — not a whole evening overhaul. Build the box once, and let the routine do the work for a week.

This site explains studies for general information — it isn't medical or parenting advice for your specific child.

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Keep exploring

This episode also lives on these library pages:

Topic: Sleep Topic: Phones & Screens All randomized clinical trial studies Research for babies & toddlers Paper index

Episode 12⏱ 3:24 video · 📖 1 min read

Meta-analysis Video coming soon

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