Smartphones, Sleep and Mental Health Q & A Professor Lisa Henderson and Dr Scott Cairney, Department of Psychology

Event details

Mental Health Awareness Week Lecture

Organised by York for Life

This online Q & A between Professor Lisa Henderson and Dr Scott Cairney, both of the University of York Department of Psychology, promises to be a deep dive into the connections between smartphone use, sleep and mental health.

Professor Henderson's research which featured in the Channel 4* documentary, "Swiped" , focuses on young people and smartphone usage, noting that a 21 day smartphone/social media ban can improve sleep, anxiety and attention in 12 - 13 year olds. Especially pertinent considering 90% of young people own a smartphone by age 11 and 60% have a social media (SM) account before age13.
(*Channel 4 is one of the leading broadcasters in the UK, with a public remit to deliver high quality, innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo)

Further to this, Dr Cairney’s research programme addresses sleep disturbance and mental health from a neurobiological perspective, with a focus on the brain processes that go awry when people do not get the sleep they need.

With the global economic burden of mental illness expected to exceed $6 trillion annually by 2030, we'll learn more about how York is at the cutting edge of research in this area.

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