Phone Sleeps First: NTU student project helps undergrads put phones away for better sleep

NTU communication studies undergraduates (from left) Milim Tay, Chloe Lim, Joy Chew and Phylicia Law organised the campaign as part of their final-year project. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOY CHEW

SINGAPORE – Nurul Izzah, 25, had a habit of doom-scrolling on her mobile phone at bedtime, often until the early hours of the morning.

The fourth-year marketing undergraduate at the Singapore University of Social Sciences said the routine started in polytechnic, when she no longer had to wake up early for school.

“I usually did my work until late at night, and after that, I’d participate in... bedtime procrastination and use my phone until maybe 3am,” she said. “It’s a bad habit, for which I’ve been nagged a lot by my parents.”

Izzah managed to improve her bedtime routine after joining an initiative organised by four final-year communication studies students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in October 2025.

She was one of 313 undergraduates from the six autonomous universities in Singapore involved in the “Phone Sleeps First” campaign, a final-year project to tackle late-night phone addiction among university students.

Numerous global studies have established a link between device use before bed and longer time taken to fall asleep. They also show that youth who use devices at night often do not get adequate high-quality sleep, and are more likely to feel tired the next day.

Participants in the NTU campaign took part in at least one of four challenge rounds, which lasted between three and seven nights each.

Before and after each round, they had to complete surveys about their sleep quality, daytime tiredness and phone use at bedtime.

During the challenge, they were encouraged to follow simple and practical tips to avoid phone use at bedtime.

These included keeping their phones away from their beds, switching on the “Do Not Disturb” mode that silences notifications, and engaging in offline activities like reading or journalling.

They also submitted phone screenshots of their device use during the designated sleep window of 10pm to 6am.

The project findings showed that cutting back on mobile phone use and late-night scrolling helped students boost their daytime energy and build healthier sleep routines.

Izzah felt less groggy in the morning and was more focused during lessons. Now, she strives not to use her phone past midnight.

“I realised I could not sustain (the prolonged use), especially as I prepare to enter the workforce. I also want to be a good role model for my younger sibling,” she said.

Joy Chew, 23, one of the project organisers, told The Straits Times that before the challenge, the participants spent 2½ to 3½ hours on their phones between 10pm and 6am, with one extreme case using the phone during the entire eight-hour sleep window.

But the campaign sparked changes, with students reducing nightly screen time by 58 to 81 minutes during the period.

The largest drop happened during the longer seven-night challenge, suggesting that sustaining the new routine for more days had helped build stronger habits.

Chew said 81 per cent of participants reported a strong intention to maintain the bedtime routines after the project.

Practical tips and peer support over strict rules

During a focus group discussion before the campaign, students admitted to spending a lot of time on social media, and were aware of the harmful effects of phone use in bed, including its impact on sleep.

“For some reason, that awareness has not been translated to habit change. So that was sort of the main focus of our campaign – more than awareness, we want to enact behaviour change,” Chew said.

The challenge was designed to be simple and easy to adopt.

Instead of requiring major lifestyle changes, the organisers asked participants to make small, manageable adjustments – without strict rules, costs or heavy time commitments.

Chew said a key part of the campaign’s success was the sense of community her team built around it.

“Participants weren’t going through the challenge alone as we encouraged them to join with their peers. Additionally, we asked them to join our Telegram channel where we further shared tips, current progress, reminders and results,” she said.

This helped participants stay motivated and feel supported throughout the process, she added.

Leonard Eng, a doctor and consultant at Singapore General Hospital’s department of psychiatry, said using mobile phones at bedtime can affect sleep in various ways.

It delays sleep, leading to less sleep overall and a higher chance of insomnia symptoms. It also keeps the mind “switched on” at the wrong time.

“Messaging, gaming or scrolling through emotionally charged content makes it harder for your brain to wind down and drift off,” he said.

While screen light has some effect on sleep, the doctor said evidence suggests that the duration of phone use close to bedtime and how emotionally stimulating the content is have a bigger impact on delaying bedtime and fragmenting sleep.

Lastly, keeping the phone in bed creates a tendency to check it during the night or be woken by notifications, increasing disruptions and fragmenting sleep, he said.

“Over time, using the phone in bed becomes a habit. It rewires your brain to think the bed is a place for entertainment and scrolling, not just for sleep,” he added.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.