Screen time before bed will make your kids restless

DEAR parents, if you want your children to have proper sleep, read this carefully.

Joining a growing list of studies that tell parents to shun devices at bedtime, researchers say children who use devices and decide what time they go to sleep, sleep less and feel sleepier the following day than their peers.

The study of children, aged 11 to 13 years, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, found 72% of the 163 students interviewed by University of Otago researchers achieved recommended guidelines of an average 9 to 11 hours sleep nightly over a week.

“But that also means that almost one in four students did not achieve sleep within these guidelines,” said study researcher Kate Ford.

However, consistent with previous research in 15 to 17-yearold New Zealanders, the study results show less sleep on the nights where devices are used before bed.

Learners who used devices before going to sleep were also more likely to report that they felt sleepy the following morning. Watching television before bed had no significant effect on sleep length.

“While the average across the week of 72% of students reporting adequate sleep is reassuring, it is far from the goal of every child achieving sleep within the recommended guidelines,” Ford said.

Dr Paul Kelly, the head of the Sleep Health Service at Canterbury District Health Board who supervised the study, said the foundations for good health were based on proper nutrition, regular exercise and good sleep quality.

“The study findings suggest the need for parental guidance around bedtime and moderation of the use and availability of electronic devices before bed,” Kelly said.