Using Twitter (also known as X) late into the night may be damaging your mental health, according to a new study by the University of Bristol.
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that tweeting at night is linked to lower mental well-being, and the effect is similar to risky behaviors like binge drinking or smoking marijuana.
The researchers analyzed real Twitter data from people who agreed to share their posts. They found that people who tweeted more often during the night reported lower levels of mental well-being. While the connection was weaker for depression and anxiety specifically, it became stronger when the data was looked at by age and gender.
The connection between social media and mental health isn’t new, but this study is different because it focuses on when people are posting, not just how much. Most adults in the UK—about 74%—keep their phones in the bedroom at night.
More than a quarter admit to checking their phones if they wake up during the night. That means many people are at risk of having their sleep disrupted by late-night screen time.
Researchers think that tweeting during the night could mess with sleep in two ways: by making people stay up later and by waking them up in the middle of the night. Poor sleep—both in quality and amount—has long been known to hurt mental health.
So when people are on social media during the hours they should be sleeping, their mental well-being might suffer as a result.
The study supports the idea that more guidance is needed around how and when we use social media. Some apps are already starting to take action. For example, TikTok recently added a feature called “Wind Down,” which shows calming videos at night to help young users stop scrolling and go to sleep.
The researchers believe that changes in how social media apps work—like adding quiet-time features—and better public education could help people use these platforms more safely. This is especially important for young people and others who may be more affected by nighttime social media use.
Daniel Joinson, a doctoral researcher and lead author of the study, explained that not all social media use is the same. He said that while some parts of social media may be helpful, specific behaviors like posting at night can be harmful.
He emphasized the value of using real data—such as the time people actually tweet—to better understand the link between social media and mental health.
The research used a detailed method. They followed 310 adults from the Children of the ’90s study. These people, ranging in age from 18 to over 60, allowed researchers to collect and study nearly 18,300 tweets.
Their mental health was measured using standard tests, including the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ), and was scored on a scale for more detailed results.
The study focused on tweets sent in the two weeks before participants completed mental health surveys. Only those tweets were analyzed to keep the results accurate.
Importantly, most of the people in the study were white, female, and the data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic—a time when social media use and mental health were both strongly affected by world events.
In summary, the study shows that tweeting during the night is connected to feeling worse mentally. The findings suggest that even a small behavior—like checking Twitter late at night—can have a real impact on how people feel.
Better app design, helpful reminders, and public education may help people improve their mental well-being by encouraging better social media habits, especially when it comes to getting enough sleep.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about Frequent painkiller use linked to mental health risks in these people and findings of Common depression drugs may offer new treatment for bipolar disorder.
For more health information, please read studies that one sleepless night can reverse depression for days and scientists find better treatment for older adults with depression.
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
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