Teen bedroom ‘tech-free’ trial improved sleep and family time but temptation remained
A BBC Teen Summit experiment found removing devices from bedrooms for five days led to better sleep, more shared activities and mixed adherence among participants
Four teenagers who agreed to remove phones, tablets and laptops from their bedrooms for five days as part of the BBC’s Teen Summit reported better sleep, more family interaction and new evening activities — but also frequent temptation to return devices to private spaces.
The participants were allowed to use their technology only in communal areas of the home and were given analogue alarm clocks for the week-long trial. Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth and Henry, also 13, were followed by BBC reporters to capture how they coped when their usual evening routines — which for Elizabeth included watching YouTube for three to four hours and for Henry included gaming into the late evening — were disrupted. Elizabeth’s parents even made a bet on whether she would keep the rule for the full five days.
By midweek both teens and their families reported tangible changes. Henry, who typically played online with friends until nine or 10 p.m. and sometimes later, said keeping his PlayStation out of his bedroom had initially lasted only a short time before it was moved back into the living room. His mother, Alyson, said gaming had previously crowded out conversation but that the move into shared space “opened up the conversation” between them. Henry said he was sleeping better and that the improved rest had a positive effect on his school performance.
Elizabeth said she found other activities to fill evening time, including researching ballet classes and baking, and that she watched documentaries on the family television rather than consuming YouTube videos alone in her room. One of the other participants, 15-year-old Michelle, said she planned to replace late-night screen use with reading, while another, 15-year-old Eliza, said she had spent more time with friends outside the home.
The experiment ran alongside a Survation poll of 2,224 13- to 18-year-olds conducted for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Bitesize. The survey found that more than a third of teenagers said they spent five or more hours on their phones on an average day, and 38% of those identifying as gamers reported spending seven or more hours a week gaming in their bedrooms. One in 10 boys said they spent more than 20 hours a week in their room away from the family. The poll also found 39% of respondents would consider taking tech out of their bedrooms to cut device time; 59% said they used built-in screen-time caps and 66% said they scheduled regular breaks. Regarding parental oversight, 25% said parents set clear limits on screen time, 47% said parents sometimes set limits, and 27% said parents set no limits.
Experts and advocates said the results were consistent with research on adolescent sleep and screen use. Kaitlyn Regehr, an associate professor in digital humanities at University College London, said she would expect improved sleep when devices are removed from bedrooms. She cited overnight notifications and screen exposure at night as common disruptors of adolescent sleep patterns. Regehr also recommended basic safety checks for parents, such as confirming who a teen is gaming with, disabling geo-location features and ensuring games are age-appropriate.
The trial coincided with impending regulatory changes: the Online Safety Act, whose new rules are due to come into force in July, aims to make the internet safer for young people. Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the changes were “welcome and long overdue” and urged parents to set boundaries such as phone-free time or unplugging before bed to promote better rest and wellbeing.
Technology companies pointed to tools aimed at limiting young people’s screen time. TikTok highlighted its Family Pairing tool, which allows parents to set screen-time limits and restrict app use at certain hours, and a wind-down prompt for users under 16 who are active after 10 p.m. Snapchat pointed to its UK parent guide suggesting families agree screen-time guidelines. Meta said Instagram Teen Accounts can switch to sleep mode after 10 p.m. and remind users to leave the app after 60 minutes, and that parental supervision tools exist across its platforms. YouTube said it offers parental controls and has made Take a Break and Bedtime reminders more prominent.
By the end of the five days the teenagers exchanged stories about highs and lows. Michelle admitted she rarely managed to read as much as she planned; Eliza said leaving home to go to the cinema felt “a lot better than sitting at home.” Henry removed the “tech-free zone” sign from his bedroom door and returned his PlayStation to his desk but said he planned to keep his phone outside the bedroom at night because of the sleep benefits. Elizabeth completed the challenge and, according to her parents, discovered other evening activities she enjoyed.
Parents and experts said the week-long trial illustrated both the benefits of setting limits on device use and the difficulty of sustaining changes. The Survation poll suggests a substantial portion of teenagers and families are experimenting with or open to rules around screens, but it also indicates that consistent parental limits are not yet universal. As regulatory, platform and household measures evolve, the teens’ experience underlines that removing devices from the private bedroom can produce measurable improvements in sleep and family interaction, while adherence remains a practical challenge for many families.