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Mental health

Doomscrolling and Your Mental Health: How to Break the Habit

Doomscrolling is common and partly by design—feeds are built to hold attention and threatening news grabs it. It can raise anxiety and harm sleep. Breaking it: scheduled news check-ins, removing apps from reach, a wind-down routine, and tracking how you feel.

Talk to a clinician

Maya Ellison, PMHNP-BC — Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Assessing anxiety and mood conditions behind compulsive news use, CBT-informed care and medication when indicated, and building sustainable, sleep-protective news habits. Gale can match you with a licensed clinician for a visit.

Find care →

Why bad news is so sticky

Two things stack up. First, our brains are wired to track threats, so alarming headlines pull attention hard. Second, platforms are built around engagement-driven design—algorithms and endless feeds that keep you scrolling and can displace sleep and offline connection 1. The combination makes 'just one more' feel almost automatic. Recognizing this helps you treat doomscrolling as a habit to redesign rather than a personal failing.

How it can affect mood and sleep

Heavy social and news use has been linked, in large studies, with more internalizing problems like anxiety and low mood—though the size of the average effect is debated and often small 2. What's clearer is sleep: screen use, especially at night, is consistently associated with shorter and more delayed sleep 3, and poor sleep itself worsens mood and worry. So even a 'small' habit can have an outsized effect through the bedtime hours.

Practical ways to break the loop

Try a few targeted changes: pick one or two set times to check the news instead of all day; remove news and social apps from your home screen and turn off their notifications; protect the bedroom and the hour before bed as screen-free 4; and follow a small number of trusted sources rather than an infinite feed. Add a 'feeling check'—rate your mood before and after scrolling for a few days; seeing the pattern often loosens the habit on its own.

Stay informed without drowning

Breaking the habit doesn't mean tuning out the world. The aim is intentional, bounded information instead of a constant drip of alarm. A short, scheduled catch-up from a couple of reliable outlets usually leaves you better informed and far calmer than hours of reactive scrolling.

When a clinician helps

If you feel anxious, low, or on-edge much of the time, can't stop scrolling even when you want to, or your sleep and daily life are suffering, a behavioral-health clinician can help. They can assess whether an anxiety or mood condition is driving the behavior (so it's treated, not just managed), provide evidence-based care such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address worry and habit loops—and medication when it's indicated—and help you build a sustainable plan to stay informed without being overwhelmed. That's often more effective than willpower alone.

Common questions

Is doomscrolling a real disorder?

No—'doomscrolling' is a popular term, not a medical diagnosis. It can, however, worsen anxiety and sleep, and it sometimes accompanies conditions like anxiety or depression that a clinician can evaluate and treat.

How does scrolling affect my sleep?

Screen use, especially in the evening, is consistently linked with shorter and later sleep [3]. Keeping screens out of the bedroom and the last hour before bed is one of the highest-yield changes you can make [4].

Will quitting social media fix my anxiety?

It can help for some people—one randomized study found a four-week break improved well-being and reduced anxiety—but effects vary, and persistent anxiety deserves a clinician's assessment rather than self-treatment alone.

Talk to a clinician

Maya Ellison, PMHNP-BC — Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Assessing anxiety and mood conditions behind compulsive news use, CBT-informed care and medication when indicated, and building sustainable, sleep-protective news habits. Gale can match you with a licensed clinician for a visit.

Find care →

When to reach out

  • —Persistent anxiety, dread, or low mood that doesn't lift
  • —You can't stop scrolling even when you want to, and it's affecting daily life
  • —Ongoing sleep problems tied to nighttime phone use
  • —News consumption is fueling panic, hopelessness, or avoidance

This article is educational and is not a diagnosis or medical advice. If worry or low mood is persistent or interfering with your life, a licensed clinician can help.

References

  1. 1.Munzer T, Parga-Belinkie J, Milkovich LM, Tomopoulos S, Ajumobi T, Cross C, Gerwin R, Madigan S; Council on Communications and Media, American Academy of Pediatrics (2025). Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement. Pediatrics, 157(2):e2025075320. doi:10.1542/peds.2025-075320 ✓Engagement-driven design (algorithms, endless feeds) encourages prolonged use that displaces sleep and connection.
  2. 2.Riehm KE, Feder KA, Tormohlen KN, Crum RM, Young AS, Green KM, Pacek LR, La Flair LN, Mojtabai R (2019). Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(12):1266-1273. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2325 ✓Heavy social media use was prospectively associated with increased internalizing mental health problems.
  3. 3.Hale L, Guan S (2015). Screen Time and Sleep Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Literature Review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 21:50-58. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2014.07.007 ✓Screen time is adversely associated with sleep duration and timing.
  4. 4.American Academy of Pediatrics, Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health (2024). Screen Time Guidelines (Q&A Portal). American Academy of Pediatrics — Center of Excellence Q&A Portal. link ✓Guidance emphasizes context of use and screen-free protection of sleep over raw time limits.

4 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice — synthetic demonstration content.