TOPLINE:

In adults at a high risk for suicide, using smartphones late at night was linked to an increased risk for suicidal ideation and suicide planning the next day. Active engagement via keyboard, especially during the middle of the night, showed protective effects against suicidal ideation.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers examined whether the timing and nature of smartphone use at night were linked to the risk for suicidal behaviors the next day in adults at high risk for suicide.
• They analyzed data from 79 adults (mean age, 35.2 years; 68.3% women) from Indiana and nearby regions who used Android phones and had suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the past month.
• For 28 days, phones captured screenshots every 5 seconds during use, and participants completed six prompts of ecologic momentary assessment daily. A deep-learning model detected the on-screen keyboard as an indication of active use.
• Researchers measured three aspects of smartphone use at night: the longest phone-free gap from 8 PM to 10 AM, use during self-reported sleep hours, and hourly use from 11 PM to 8 AM.
• Levels of next-day passive and active suicidal ideation and suicide planning were assessed.

TAKEAWAY:

• Phone-free gaps of 4-7 hours at night were associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation than longer gaps of 7-9 hours, for both passive (regression coefficient [B], 0.35; 95% credible interval [CrI], 0.14-0.55) and active ideation (B, 0.29; 95% CrI, 0.10-0.49).
• Using the phone between 11 PM and 1 AM was associated with higher levels of next-day passive and active suicidal ideation and suicide planning than use during later hours of the night (1-5 AM) or early morning (5-8 AM).
• Extended keyboard activity, especially between 1 AM and 5 AM, was associated with reduced levels of suicidal ideation the next day.
• The effects of the timing and nature of smartphone use persisted even after adjusting for total use.

IN PRACTICE:

“Interventions that seek to simply reduce overall use may overlook meaningful distinctions between harmful and potentially adaptive behaviors. Upon replication of these findings, behavioral signals, such as late-night passive use, could be incorporated into real-time risk detection algorithms or used to trigger just-in-time adaptive interventions,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Ross Jacobucci, PhD, of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was published online on November 11, 2025, in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

This observational study did not find that phone use caused suicidal ideation or planning. Phone inactivity could not be distinguished from sleep. The sample was limited to Android users with recent suicidal thoughts, which restricted generalizability. 

DISCLOSURES:

This study received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.