Bedtime gadgets harm kids’ sleep
A lack of good-quality sleep can have a very real impact on children’s day-to-day lives
CHILDREN as young as 6 years old are losing hours of sleep after using electronic gadgets before bed.
More than a third of 6-yearolds are allowed to sit in front of tablets, laptops and smartphones in the hour before bedtime, a study has found.
Children who do this get 20 minutes less sleep a night on average than those who avoid electronic devices. That adds up to more than two hours’ lost sleep a week, or 121 hours in a year.
A study led by the University of Sheffield questioned 1 000 British parents with children aged 6 to 11 about their sleep habits. They found 60% of 11-year-olds use technology in the hour before bed.
This is concerning because smartphones and tablets produce blue light, which is believed to disrupt important signals that tell the body it is dark and time to go to sleep, and to suppress the sleep hormone melatonin.
Lead author Dr Anna Weighall, a development cognitive psychologist from the university, who conducted the research, said:”Good-quality sleep is essential for a child’s development, and a lack of sleep can have a very real impact on their day-to-day lives, as well as having long-term health implications.
“Technology can benefit our lives in so many ways, but parents need to be aware of the negative impact it can have on children. The presence of tablets and phones in a child’s bedroom, even if they are switched off, can leave them feeling unsettled which will have an effect on their sleeping patterns.”
The research, in conjunction with bed manufacturer Silentnight, found 40% of parents let their 6-year-olds use technology in the hour before bedtime, with one in six “often” permitting this.
These parents were asked for the average bedtimes of their children and when they woke up, as were those who banned all electronic devices in the hour before bedtime.
Those children who used phones, laptops and tablets before bed at age 6 got 20 minutes less sleep than those who did not, on average. They also got less sleep if they were allowed to take electronic devices into their rooms.
Experts have warned that the majority of children, like their exhausted parents, are now getting less sleep than they need, with this trend worsening as they approach secondary school age.
Weighall said: “It can be really hard being a parent.
“But having clear rules about the use of technology close to bedtime and a regular routine are small changes that have the potential to make a really big difference to our children’s daily lives.’”