Screens Affect Sleep - Teenagers may not be getting enough sleep because of their excessive exposure to the light from electronic screens such as smartphones, TVs, laptops and computers.
According to a recent study published in the journal BMJ Open, researchers in Norway discovered that people who spend their last hour before bed looking at an electronic screen are most likely to have insufficient sleep.
"There are probably many possible pathways between screen time and sleep, some of which are direct," lead author of the study, Mari Hysing of Uni Research Health in Bergen, Norway said.
"The light from screens may directly affect our circadian rhythms, and teenagers may be especially sensitive."
Hysing and her colleagues arrived at the conclusion that screens affect sleep after examining responses from over 1,000 16 to 19-year-olds in Western Norway.
According to the study, people who spend more than three hours looking at screens daily had a 49 per cent risk of struggling to sleep, for at least an hour in bed.
As if that wasn't frustrating enough, these people are three and a half times likely to get under five hours of sleep a night.
More than 80 percent of boys and 90 percent of girls who participated in the study said they used several electronic devices an hour before going to sleep.
Reports indicate that excessive viewing of TV and other electronic screens may affect the the nervous system and subsequently the body's rhythm.
"Parents should be aware of the use of all types of electronic devices in the bedroom," Hysing said.
"At a minimum, keep the night-time screen-free in the bedroom, and ideally be logged off an hour or so before they go to sleep."
Researchers are calling on authorities to update their guidelines to the healthy use of electronic gadgets to include other trending devices-other than TVs and computers.
"While there has been a focus on media use in younger children, we know that many teenagers do not have parental-set bedtimes nor restrictions on media use," Hysing said. "The most important thing we can do is to keep the night screen free."
"It is important that we keep abreast of the impact this is having on their health," said Eustace de Sousa, national lead for children, young people and families at Public Health England.
"Existing evidence shows that the more screen time children have, the more likely they are to experience attention difficulties, anxiety, depression and poor sleep patterns. Children obviously need to use computers to do homework, but the priority for parents and children is moderation."
