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The light from these electronic devices interferes with the body’s melatonin release and tricks the body into thinking it is daytime. A study showed that children, who play video games or watch television for more than 2 hours a day once the sun had set, report getting less sleep than those who watch less.
This could be the reason why up to 39% of children have difficulty waking up for school in the morning. Sleeping near small screens is proven to be more harmful than having a TV in your child’s bedroom. This is because lighted or audible notifications from tablets or phones may wake your child up in the middle of the night. Children who sleep near small screens reported 20.6 minutes fewer sleep than those who sleep away from them.
Even though a few minutes a day may not seem significant, your child might be losing up to 124 hours of sleep each year, which is almost a full week of sleep!
Sources:
Garmy, P. et al. 2012. Sleep and Television and Computer Habits of Swedish School-Age Children. The Journal of School Nursing. 28(6). pp.469-476.
Falbe, J. et al. 2015. Sleep Duration, Restfulness, and Screens in the Sleep Environment. Official Journal of the American Academy of Paediatrics. 135(2).
Hi, very interesting article. Children nowadays are more close to the electronic devices than human beings! I showed this write up to my 5 year old son and he went ‘Really?’
He now stops playing his video games by 5pm. Thanks and keep up with the good work, hope to see more articles coming. Cheers and all the best, Natalie
👍 informative article. Good to share with our kids.
Interesting article indeed. Never thought of the electronic devices in this light. My kids were initially horrified with the idea of no more tables after 7pm but now wake up fresher and brighter in the mornings. My 6 year old son does not now have to be reminded to put it away, he does it on his own. Thanks for the write up. Keep it up Rhinaa.
Interesting article indeed. Never thought of the electronic devices in this light. My kids were initially horrified with the idea of no more tables after 7pm but now wake up fresher and brighter in the mornings. My 6 year old son does not now have to be reminded to put it away, he does it on his own. Thanks for the write up. Keep it up Rhinaa.
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