Children are ‘twice as likely’ to lose sleep by using smartphones in bed

CHILDREN are more vulnerable than adults to losing sleep from taking smartphones and tablets to bed, according to researchers.

Experts have warned that children are more sensitive to the blue light from electronic screens because their eyes have not fully developed. It means the light is better able to disrupt their body clocks, keeping them awake.

US researchers have reviewed more than 60 studies on children’s ‘screen time’ in front of televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones.

Lead author Dr Monique LeBourgeois, from the University of Colorado in Boulder, said: ‘We know younger individuals have larger pupils, and their lenses are more transparent, so their exposure and sensitivity to that light is even greater than in older individuals.’

The gadgets keep us awake because their short-wavelength ‘blue’ light signals to the retina that it is not yet night-time. This suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, making us less tired.

And it seems to happen more in children than in adults, according to the review in the journal Paediatrics. One study found when grown-ups and schoolchildren were exposed to the same amount of light at the same brightness, children’s melatonin fell by almost twice the amount.