SLEEP SCHOOL

Too much screen time can affect your children in many areas, including their sleep. Lucy Wolfe looks at why a digital detox is important

How a digital detox can improve little ones’ sleep

Arecent newspaper headline suggested that we are “a generation that doesn’t sleep”. It is a shocking and thoughtprovoking statement. There is no doubt that reports of sleep issues — among both adults and children — seem to be at an all-time high. Common sleep issues are represented by an inability to achieve sleep with ease and/or challenges actually staying asleep.

There is a wide variety of factors that affect both the amount of sleep that each individual achieves and the much-harder-to-gauge quality of the sleep attained. These factors include diet, exercise, stress, anxiety and inadequate sleep hygiene practices, to name but a few.

The over-reliance on screen time and electronic media is also playing a leading role in undermining everyone’s sleep — with our children being the most vulnerable cohort — due to ongoing brain maturation and development.

It is essential that we all start to acknowledge the severe negative impact the use of electronic devices has in this context.

The influx of portable electronic media means that it is becoming increasingly difficult to create boundaries between the use of electronics before sleep, where there may be pernicious implications.

However, parents should not underestimate the daytime use of screens, which also has a negative impact.

Common complaints

● Finding it challenging to fall asleep with ease

● Staying awake overnight for long periods of time

● Restless, interrupted sleep tendencies

● Poor daytime concentration levels

● Reduced motivation to engage in other activities

Consistently being distracted by phones and gadgets means we are missing connected, meaningful time with our children — it’s a two-way street between the parents’ and the children’s use of media.

It is not unusual for parents, myself included, to employ TVs, apps and iPads to either help entertain and in many cases ‘wind down’ their small people. The implications, though, may be quite negative, with a variety of studies demonstrating that the more kids use electronics, the less sleep they ultimately get.

It is typical for parents to report that their children are achieving the amount of sleep suggested for their age range, but what is harder to quantify is the quality of that sleep.

Screen time close to sleep time reduces the quality of the sleep by preventing the brain going into the necessary deep, restorative-sleep phase setting. This, potentially, will have far-reaching consequences for overall health and wellbeing.

What happens when we use electronics close to sleep time?

It is becoming clear that playing video games, texting and surfing the internet can

put the body into fight-or-flight mode. You don’t have to be playing a violent game for this to happen — you may not even have to be playing a game. By using electronic media, the brain and body are put into a state of stress from the level of visual and cognitive stimulation. Young brains are more vulnerable than adult brains and therefore more sensitive to this, and at a greater risk.

This may lead to sleep issues on a number of levels: a wired brain that has experienced the fight-or-flight stress will cut short the amount of deep sleep completed overnight. Yet this is required to promote the restoring quality of the sleep itself. Poor-quality sleep compromises daytime alertness — directly affecting mood, behaviour, concentration and so on.

Also, the light emitted from the screens has a negative impact on sleeping patterns. The intense light signals to the brain that it is ‘wake time’, rather than sleep time, and inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. This can disjoint the circadian rhythm and very often can be the sole cause of some children’s inability to go to sleep at an appropriate time. Out-of-sync biological rhythms can keep us from going to — and staying — asleep.

Furthermore, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a by-product of anything electronic. Wireless gadgets, monitors and the internet increase EMR levels. The effect of this also disrupts melatonin and exacerbates the fight-or-flight stress, which together impair both the quality of sleep and the ease with which going to sleep is managed.

For many, it will be obvious that your child is not getting enough sleep; however, other indications that your little one is not getting enough restorative sleep may include: 1. Difficulty waking in the morning 2. Inability to retain information 3. Dark circles under the eyes 4. Negative thought processes Unfortunately, the potential impact on our children, who require an age-appropriate amount of night-time sleep, is greater due to their still-developing brains and their need have the ability to be alert and open to learning at all times.

Digital detox

As we enter a new academic year, work towards making changes within your child’s and your own use of electronic media: these can have immediate positive results. Alongside our primary task of providing a loving, safe and nurturing environment, doing our best to observe positive sleep practices is also part of the job description.

Disconnect your child from electronics, including television, at least one hour (and ideally two hours) before sleep time. It may be a good idea to have a digital boundary for everybody in the house from 6pm onwards. If everyone is operating in the same way, it can be easier to continue with the changes — it may be unfair for your child to be offline if you are still online.

Look at ways to keep electronics and televisions out of the bedroom. Children will naturally re-engage in other activities in the absence of gadgets. It will also encourage older children to stay within the common areas of the house — this will lay the foundation for continued family relations as they get older, meaning that they will not be as inclined to slope away to their bedroom to watch Netflix or play on their iPad. This promotes continued emotional connectivity as opposed to electronic connectivity.

Help your child develop a pre-sleep ritual — reading a book, having a relaxing bath, doing gentle exercises or stretches, and meditation — can all be appropriate measures to promote good sleep. It’s useful to allocate the hour before bedtime for these activities, and it is best if they are done in the bedroom where your child will sleep. Having 20–40 minutes’ downtime is recommended: the lesser amount for your young child and a longer spell as your child gets older and needs more time to process the stresses of the day. It is also another good opportunity for togetherness, enabling open communication as you head towards the teenage years.

Lucy Wolfe, CGSC, MAPSC, HDip RM, is a paediatric sleep consultant; author of the bestselling book ‘The Baby Sleep Solution’; creator of Sleep Through, a natural body and bed sleep spray and relaxing rub, and mum of four children. She runs a private sleep consulting practice where she provides knowledge, expertise and valuable support to families across the country. Tel: 087 268 3584 or email lucy@sleepmatters.ie; see sleepmatters.ie

‘Screen time close to sleep time reduces the quality of sleep — it prevents the brain going into the necessary deep sleep phase’