How screen time is affecting your child’s sleep
It doesn’t come as a surprise to most that staring at your phone or watching TV right before bed can negatively impact your quality of sleep. This is largely because the blue light that emits from digital screens (such as cell phones, computers, and TVs) quickly suppresses our body’s sleepy hormone (melatonin) and can cause our cortisol levels to rise.
In fact, using our phone before bed is so overstimulating that it can be compared to drinking a cup of coffee before bed!
What you may not know, however, is that blue light has an even stronger effect on children. Using electronics before bed has been linked to problems such as shorter amounts of sleep, as well as daytime sleepiness in children and teenagers.
Study after study has been done, revealing that children with regular screen time have later bedtimes, and therefore, fewer hours of sleep. Some research has shown that preschoolers who watch less than one hour of TV per day get nearly 2.5 hours more of sleep per week than those who watch more than an hour of TV per day.
"Well, that’s fine," you're thinking. "I don't give my baby screen time at all, so this doesn't affect us!" Well...what about that nightlight you use during diaper changes? Chances are, it probably emits blue light and might disturb your baby's ability to go back to sleep, as well.
In our digitally-driven culture, it might feel next to impossible to completely eliminate screens in the evening, but there are several ways you can do so, leading to better sleep for your entire household.
#1 The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 18 months have no screen time at all (with the only exception being occasional video-chatting with grandparents). For children 18-24 months, if you really want to introduce screen time, it should only be high-quality (educational) programming - and watched with an adult. Children ages 2-5 should have no more than one hour per day of screen time, if that.
#2 For older children, don't allow any sort of screen time for at least an hour before bedtime, in order to help them wind down and produce melatonin. Studies also show that children without TVs in their bedroom sleep an average of 30 minutes more than children with TVs.
#3 For your own sleep, if you can't (or don't want to) limit your screen time usage before bed, at least use a blue light filter. Most smartphones have a blue light filter option. On an iPhone, go to Settings and then Display & Brightness. You will then see a Night Shift setting. This feature changes your screen to showing warmer colors. On some Android phones, if you swipe down on your home screen, you will see “Blue light filter” as an option right under “airplane mode.”
#4 Use a nightlight with red or amber light, rather than blue light, for middle-of-the-night diaper changes and feedings. This way, you won’t be fully waking up your baby. There are several options you can find online with reasonable prices.
Nightlights:
Light bulbs:
#5 Encourage light reading. Often, children end up watching TV or getting on devices out of boredom or by habit, when really they may just need a nudge to pick up a book, or even better, to spend some time reading with you! Connection time at night is one of the best ways to help your child feel safe and secure heading into sleep, and it’s a great opportunity for you to set aside distractions and engage with your kiddos as well.
Sources:
https://www.parentingscience.com/Electronic-media-and-sleep-problems-in-children.html
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/5/e20162591
https://www.yourbestdigs.com/reviews/best-night-light/
http://nymag.com/strategist/article/blue-light-free-lightbulbs.html
https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/young-kids-who-watch-more-tv-get-less-sleep-23404630
Related posts:
These are the alarming dangers of sleep deprivation
Here’s why consistent bedtimes are more important than you think
How much sleep do you really need?