#133 - Sleep & Doomscrolling

#133 - Sleep & Doomscrolling

From The Matt Walker Podcast by Dr. Matt Walker

April 27, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

Matt discusses the impact of doomscrolling on sleep and mental health, particularly among adolescents.

Matt introduces "doomscrolling," linking compulsive online consumption to worsened sleep and mental health. He tracks social media's rise (1997-2016), noting increased addiction. By 2016, 82% of 12th graders spent six hours daily online, often at sleep's expense. Matt also highlights heightened psychological distress in adolescent girls due to comparison-focused platforms. Noting that "doomscrolling" is tied to FOMO, addiction, and distress, he describes a bidirectional loop: poor sleep drive...

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Matt Walker

Topics covered

  • sleep
  • doomscrolling
  • mental health
  • social media addiction
  • adolescent distress

Keywords

  • doomscrolling
  • sleep
  • mental health
  • social media
  • adolescents
  • FOMO
  • addiction

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: social media

Places: 12th graders

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