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Smartphones, Sleep and Mental Health Q & A

Talk

Professor Lisa Henderson and Dr Scott Cairney, Department of Psychology

This event has now finished.

Event date
Tuesday 13 May 2025, 7pm to 8pm
Location
Online only
Audience
Open to alumni, staff, students, the public
Admission
Free admission, booking required

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.

Partners

York for Life