wellness
Baylor Study: Evening Screen Time Cuts Adult Sleep by Hours
A 2025 Baylor study tracks how evening device use cuts into rest for Waco adults.
How we reported this
Adults in McLennan County who scroll phones or tablets in the final hour before bed take an average of 27 minutes longer to fall asleep than those who avoid screens, according to a Baylor University analysis released in May.
The finding arrives as more Waco residents report fatigue during daytime hours at work and school. Local primary-care clinics logged a 14 percent rise in sleep-related visits between January and June this year compared with the same stretch in 2025. Evening screen habits have grown since fiber internet upgrades reached neighborhoods along Austin Avenue and Valley Mills Drive, giving households faster connections that keep devices in use later.
Waco programs target evening habits
The Waco Family YMCA on Franklin Avenue runs a device-free hour before its 7 p.m. yoga sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Participants leave phones in lockers and report better rest the same night, according to sign-in records kept by instructors. Cameron Park’s riverfront trail system now hosts monthly “sunset walks” organized by the Parks and Recreation Department; the July 15 event starts at 8:15 p.m. from the Herring Avenue entrance and ends by 9 p.m. to discourage late-night phone checks.
Researchers at Baylor’s School of Public Health surveyed 412 adults living within five miles of downtown in March. Sixty-two percent said they used a phone, tablet or laptop after 10 p.m. on weeknights. Those same respondents averaged 5 hours and 48 minutes of sleep, 48 minutes below the seven-hour threshold the CDC recommends for adults. The study adjusted for shift work and caffeine intake.
Small changes that add up
Turning screens to night-shift mode after 9 p.m. and charging devices outside the bedroom cut the delay in sleep onset by roughly half in a follow-up group tracked for four weeks. Residents near the Brazos River can join the next Cameron Park sunset walk or stop by the YMCA front desk for a printed checklist of evening wind-down steps. Local doctors still advise anyone with ongoing sleep trouble to schedule a visit rather than rely on general tips.