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The bad side of kids’ exposure to smartphones

  • Study found the a downside of children’s exposure to screens and portable devices.
  • One of the main effects of this is sleep deprivation.

Parents now have more reasons to stop their kids from over-exposing themselves to screens.

A study found that the brain changes among kids who use smartphones more than seven hours a day. They also tend to have lower cognitive skills if they use screens more than two hours a day.

The research that was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found links between screen time and negative health outcomes. They have been tracking the television watching habits of U.S teens. As of 2016, an average American teen spends about six hours a day immersed in digital media.

This overpowers other activities such as reading a book or interacting with friends face to face.

Kids and teens who spend more time on screens also sleep less. This may be due to the fact that they spend so much time engaged with their devices that it’s coming at the expense of sleep.

But did you know that there’s also a psychological reason? The blue light coming from electronic screens trick our brains into thinking that it’s daytime, which results to the difficulty of getting high quailty sleep. This also applies to televisions.

But 10-year-olds who spend four or more hours a day on smartphones are twice as likely to be sleep deprived than those who are more exposed to televisions.

So how can parents solve this? It’s best for smartphones and tablets away for an hour before bedtime. Also, two hours a day or less spent in front of portable devices is a good rule to set.

Written by J M

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