Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2018

College/Unit

School of Medicine

Department/Program/Center

Psychology

Abstract

With the widespread use of portable electronic devices and the normalization of screen media devices in the bedroom, insufficient sleep has become commonplace, affecting 30% of toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children and the majority of adolescents.1,2 In a recent literature review of studies investigating the link between youth screen media use and sleep, 90% of included studies found an association between screen media use and delayed bedtime and/or decreased total sleep time.3 Proposed mechanisms include displacement of time that would have been spent sleeping, psychological stimulation and light exposure, and increased physiological alertness.3 This pervasive phenomenon of pediatric sleep loss has widespread implications due to the associations between insufficient sleep and increased risk of childhood obesity 4, disrupted psychological well-being 5 and impaired cognitive/academic functioning6. There is a clear need for more basic, translational, and clinical research examining the effects of screen media on sleep loss and health consequences in children and adolescents in order to educate and motivate clinicians, teachers, parents and youth themselves to foster healthy sleep habits.

Source Citation

Hale L, Kirschen GW, LeBourgeois MK, et al. Youth Screen Media Habits and Sleep. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2018;27(2):229-245. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2017.11.014

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