How too much screen time is affecting kids

LONDON: Nine out of 10 children are not getting enough sleep or exercise and spend too much time on screens, experts warn.

Children who spend hours on smartphones and tablets move around less, and the blue light from the devices disrupts their sleeping patterns.

The study, by Loughborough University and University College London, looked at screen time, sleep and physical activity in children based on the Millennium Cohort Study of 2015 and 2016.

The study states only 9.7% of 14 year olds in the UK meet three recommendations, with more than three quarters of teenagers spending more than two hours on screens daily.

The results show just 23.1% of 14 year olds manage this and the study of almost 4 000 UK children found almost 77% of 14 year olds spend two or more hours a day at screens.

Furthermore, less than half of 14 year olds manage to achieve the recommended hour or more a day of moderate or vigorous physical activity.

Only 40.5% get the amount of exercise the NHS recommends, although 89.3% got more than eight hours of sleep. This has been linked to depressive symptoms, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.