Case report: Nighttime media restriction for pediatric insomnia

Arai et al. (2024) worked with one 13-year-old who had chronic insomnia and daytime sleepiness. The teen could not fall asleep and felt tired all day.

Parents simply locked away phones, tablets, and game consoles after 9 pm. No other tools or drugs were used. The team tracked sleep for 16 weeks.

By week 16 the teen fell asleep easily and woke up rested. Night wakings and daytime sleepiness both stopped.

The family kept the 9 pm rule and sleep stayed good. No extra therapy was needed.

Laugeson et al. (2014) showed autistic teens average five hours of computer time each day. Arai’s case proves a hard 9 pm cutoff can still work even when baseline use is sky-high.

Healy et al. (2020) found that bedroom TVs and loose rules drive higher screen use. Arai adds a clear fix: one simple rule beats vague “less screen” advice.

Laugeson et al. (2014) used parent sleep education for autistic children and also improved sleep. Arai shows you can skip lessons and still win—just turn the devices off.

You can copy this tonight. Tell parents to park all screens in the kitchen at 9 pm. No apps, no trackers, no cost. One teen proves that is enough to reset sleep in about four months. Try it first before writing a heavy behavior plan.