This is far from shocking, but, a new study is showing the effects of television, video games, computers, and violent entertainment on kid’s sleeping problems.
What they found is that the more they do right before bed, the higher the chance of nightmares, sleeplessness, trouble getting to sleep, and sleepiness during the day:
In the study, 28 percent of preschoolers who watched TV or played video games for at least 30 minutes after 7 p.m. had sleep problems most nights of the week, versus 19 percent of children whose TV and video-game use took place only before 7 p.m.
A lot of it happens because of the images and brightness on the screens can keep melatonin levels from a normal rise, but it can also be because of the content on the screens as well.
Now, we aren’t necessarily talking about adult violence here, but rather violence intended for younger viewers like in cartoons:
Violent programming and video games appeared to contribute to sleep problems as well, even if the kids watched or played them during the daytime. Thirty-seven percent of the children who were exposed to one hour or more of violent media per day had sleep problems, compared with just 19 percent of those who watched less than one hour (or none).
The study included kids from 3-5 years old, and 612 of them. We can definitely see some sort of a link here! With all that stimulation right before bed it’s no wonder that kids aren’t getting the quality of sleep that they should!
A possible fix would be to have a “screen-free” hour right before bed, and another would be to set up routines that the kids can expect so their minds start to automatically prepare for sleep — like a dinner time, followed by study time, story time, etc.
There are ways to deal with this, so, parents: just keep an eye on your child and observe how much rest they’re getting and the quality of it affects them through the day!
[Image via AP Images.]
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