In children 6 months to 3 years, each hour spent in front of a touch screen is linked to a decrease in sleep duration of 15.6 minutes.
The more time small children spend on a smartphone or tablet, the more likely they are to have sleep problems. according to a new study published in the review Scientific Reports. It had already been shown that there is a link between exposure to traditional screens (such as television and video games) and sleep problems in children and adults, but no research had been done in infants and Babies.
In order to obtain these results, scientists at the University of London conducted an online survey of 715 parents regarding their children’s exposure to screens (TVs and touch screens), their sleep cycles (duration of sleep during night and day) and the quality of this sleep.
According to parents’ statements, three quarters of UK children aged 6 months to 3 years old use touchscreen devices like iPads or smartphones every day. In children aged 2 and 3, this percentage even rises to 92%!
Importantly, scientists discovered that every hour spent in front of a touchscreen is linked to a decrease in sleep duration of 15.6 minutes. Finally, newborns and babies who are exposed to these media for a long time would take longer to fall asleep.
An impact on the level of melatonin.
“These devices are in their parents’ pockets all the time. The children understand that it is an interesting object and they in turn become interested in these objects ”, explains to the newspaper The Independent Tim Smith, the psychologist who conducted the study.
And what about the link that might exist between exposure to touch screens and sleep loss? The researcher proposes two theories: “The wavelength of light [émise par ces écrans] is different from those they receive during the day or at night, so this could [avoir un impact sur le taux de] melatonin, the hormone necessary for sleep ”. But he also raises the possibility that the loss of sleep is simply due to “the level of distraction and stimulation that children receive” by being exposed to these devices.
The scientist advances a final hypothesis against the grain: “The increase in screen consumption may not be the cause of this sleep problem at all, but the symptom of something else present in the child,” such as hyperactivity. ”
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