TikTok skincare trends may cause lasting skin damage in teens; screen time is a ‘digital pacifier’ for kids; sleep patterns at 15 predict heart health at 22 – Morning Medical Update

TikTok teen skincare trends may cause lasting skin damage

Alright, it's not breaking news that most social media influencers don't moonlight as board-certified dermatologists, but children are unfortunately following their regimens regardless. A Northwestern Medicine study warns that teen skincare routines popularized on social media apps like TikTok put children as young as seven at risk of lifelong allergic skin conditions. Published in Pediatrics, the study found that children and teens who watch these videos use an average of six skin care products in their daily routines, copying the routines they see online.

The top-viewed videos contained an average of 11 potentially irritating active ingredients and only 26% of daytime regimens included sunscreen. Videos often emphasize lighter, brighter skin and project harmful beauty standards.

“That high risk of irritation came from both using multiple active ingredients at the same time, such as hydroxy acids, as well as applying the same active ingredient unknowingly over and over again when that active ingredient was found in three, four, five different products,” said Molly Hales, M.D., Ph.D.

Screen time is a ‘digital pacifier’ for kids

A study out of Australian Catholic University finds that screen time is creating a vicious cycle in children’s mental health — especially among kids ages 6 to 10. The study, published in Psychological Bulletin, looked at 300,000 children and found that emotionally struggling kids increasingly turn to screens like tablets and games for comfort, but this reliance worsens behavioral and emotional problems over time. Gaming had the strongest negative impact, particularly in older boys. Researchers say parents should focus less on just eliminating screens and more on recognizing when they’re being used to avoid real-world coping.

Sleep patterns in teenage years predict heart health in adulthood

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting found that teens who sleep earlier, more consistently and with higher efficiency at age 15 have better cardiovascular health by age 22. Conducted by researchers at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, the study tracked sleep habits and health metrics in over 300 adolescents. Total sleep time didn’t predict heart health, but timing and regularity did.