• Posted June 10, 2026

Teen Recovering From Concussion? A 'Sweet Spot' For Screen Time Could Speed Up Their Recovery

Moderating a teen’s screen time following a concussion might help speed their recovery, a new study says.

Teenagers who kept their screen time to around 141 minutes a day within the first three days of their concussion sped up their recovery by about 35%, researchers reported June 9 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Teens who used screens more or less than that tended to have a slower recovery, researchers said.

“Rather than advising complete screen avoidance, clinicians may consider recommending a daily screen time target of about 141 mins to support recovery,” concluded the research team led by Jingzhen Yang, a principal investigator for injury research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

However, a New York-based concussion expert said the study cuts against current guidelines that call for people to recover at their own pace, without any particular set limits.

“We should be guiding any activities, whether it's physical or cognitive, to be dictated by the individual themselves and the symptoms that they're having,” said Dr. Rosanna Sabini, medical director of Northwell Health’s concussion program in Bay Shore, New York.

“After a couple of days of just taking it easy, we should get folks back into the routine of things, and that typically is what helps guide the recovery,” she said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers tracked 80 concussed kids ages 11 to 17, monitoring their screen time until their symptoms cleared up.

Teens most frequently used smartphones during their recovery (224 minutes per day on average), followed by watching TV (204 minutes), computer/tablet use (113 minutes) and gaming (60 minutes).

Symptoms cleared up faster among those spending 120 to 240 minutes per day on screens, compared to those spending less or more time, the study found.

Specifically, symptom resolution was more than twice as fast among those in the sweet spot than those who used screens less often, and 50% quicker for those who spend more time on screens, researchers said.

The optimal average screen time for recovery was around 141 minutes daily.

Because of the small size of the group studied, the authors said more research is needed to explain this potential link between screen time and concussion recovery.

Screen time could influence recovery by causing eye strain, brain overload and poor sleep, they said.

But Sabini questioned whether a person’s screen time was influenced by their concussion symptoms, rather than the other way around.

“If I didn't feel great, I probably wouldn't want to be on my screen either,” she said. "Folks who don't feel well won't typically watch TV or be surrounded by a lot of sounds and light and be stimulated by a bright screen.”

Sabini said "it’s a little comical" to say that those with the least screen time will have the worst recovery.

“I think that's more of an indication that probably their symptomatology was higher, and they didn't want to tolerate it, or their parents took it away for whatever reason,” she said.

“There are really no restrictions that I recommend aside from going back to some sort of contact sport where they could get re-injured,” Sabini said. “We should be allowing these kids to pretty much do whatever they want as long as they feel good and not restrict them. Obviously, there's everything in moderation. We shouldn't expect kids to be on their phones for four hours a day at any point. I don't think that's healthy, either. But that’s the kind of world we live in today.”

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on concussion recovery for children and teenagers.

SOURCES: British Medical Journal, news release, June 9, 2026; Dr. Rosanna Sabini, medical director, concussion program, Northwell Health, Bay Shore, New York