Are Your Kids Losing Sleep Over Screen Time?

Are Your Kids Losing Sleep Over Screen Time?

How many times have you been almost asleep—or maybe even sound asleep—when a text or, even more frustrating, someone inviting you to play Candy Crush, makes your phone vibrate, jolting you out of your happy place just enough so that you can’t get back to sleep? It’s happened to me way too many times to count. I keep wanting to leave my phone plugged in far away in the kitchen while I sleep so it won’t bother me (also so I won’t be tempted to watch cute puppy videos late at night), but night after night, it stays put on my nightstand. If I have a hard enough time trying to turn off or distance myself from my devices, what are the chances that kids would be any better at that? Hint: The chances are not good.

A recent study published in Pediatrics shows that kids between the ages of 9 and 12 who sleep near their smart phones get 21 fewer minutes of sleep than their peers who don’t have devices in their rooms. Part of that could be that having screen time before you go to sleep messes with your sleep cycle and tricks your brain into being more “awake” when it should be going in the other direction, but another huge factor is probably coming from kids playing around on apps, watching videos, and chatting with their friends into the late hours.

Here’s where I stand on screen time: I fully admit to using different apps to keep my kids entertained on train rides or plane flights (you’re welcome, fellow passengers!) and a video or two on my phone has definitely come in handy during potty time with one of my daughters. Screen time can be a life saver when you’re trying to deal with day to day tasks, but by no means do I think it should be used as a babysitter, and I am totally against unsupervised screen time for little ones. I mean, come on—that’s just asking for trouble.

I know parents are giving their children smart phones earlier and earlier, and I’m not trying to pass judgment on that, but when screen time starts interfering with sleep (and sleep loss has been shown to lower test scores and increase chances of obesity), something’s got to give. If you realize your whole family could be getting a bit more shut eye if it weren’t for those pesky devices, why not make a pact and agree that everyone’s phones get put on the kitchen counter to charge overnight while all of you recharge in bed? Sounds like a win for all involved.