Smartphones and tablets depriving babies and toddlers of much-needed sleep

VERY YOUNG children can be deprived of sleep by using smartphones and tablets, research suggests.

Scientists found that the more very young children used touchscreen devices, the less they slept and the longer they took to fall asleep.

Every additional hour of touchscreen use led to nearly 16 minutes less sleep on average over 24 hours.

Proper sleep – as opposed to daytime naps – is thought to play a key role in the development of higher-level mental processes in young children.

This, in turn, may contribute to poor emotional and social adjustment and have an impact on school achievement.

Lead researcher Dr Tim Smith from Birkbeck, University of London, said: “These results indicate that the popularity and accessibility of touchscreen devices has led to high levels of usage by babies and toddlers, and this is associated with reduced sleep.

“Future research is now needed to build on this initial study to try and understand whether touchscreen use is causing sleep problems and how types of use may mitigate these risks.”

Three-quarters of toddlers aged between six months and three years from UK families participating in the study used a touchscreen on a daily basis.

Rates of usage increased from 51 per cent at six to 11 months to 92 per cent at 25 to 36 months.

A total of 715 parents were questioned about their children’s touchscreen use and sleep patterns.

TV and computer games have already been linked to sleep problems in children, but this was the first study to assess the impact of touchscreen smartphones and tablets.

Some manufacturers are now trying to produce devices that are less likely to interfere with sleep patterns. Apple has introduced a Night Shift mode which reduces the amount of blue light emitted, which is believed to interfere with the user’s circadian rhythms which control sleep.