Does perceived impact moderate the relationship between screen time and sleep?

Adolescent sleep deprivation has become a defining feature of contemporary schooling, shaped by academic pressures, digital engagement, extracurricular commitments, and shifting circadian rhythms. Although a substantial body of research has documented the cognitive consequences of insufficient sleep, less attention has been directed toward how reduced sleep duration specifically affects accuracy on structured problem-solving tasks—tasks that require sequential reasoning, rule-based execution, and sustained cognitive control. This study investigates whether reduced sleep duration leads to lower accuracy on structured problem-solving tasks among high school students, drawing on cognitive load theory, executive function research, and adolescent developmental neuroscience. Using a mixed-methods survey-based observational design supplemented by controlled task performance trials, the study examines sleep duration, self-reported sleep quality, digital habits, and performance on standardized logic-based problem-solving tasks. Findings indicate a robust inverse relationship between sleep duration and problem-solving accuracy, with students sleeping fewer than seven hours demonstrating significantly lower accuracy, higher error rates, and reduced persistence on multi-step tasks. These results align with national sleep research and contribute to ongoing scholarly discussions about adolescent cognitive regulation, academic performance, and the neurocognitive consequences of chronic sleep restriction. Implications for educational policy, digital-wellness interventions, and future research are discussed.