A study of 345 children aged 12 to 14 found that increased consumption of electronics, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, one hour before bedtime, may increase the risk of poor sleep quality.
The study had been released by the National Sleep Foundation and published in Sleep Health.
“Bedtime media use has been associated with poor sleep and attention difficulties among adolescents, but much of this research has been cross-sectional, limiting current understanding of directionality of effects,” according to researchers.
“This 2-wave prospective study tested bidirectional effects between bedtime media use and sleep measures, including time in bed, sleep onset latency, and daytime sleepiness, and further examined whether bedtime media use and sleep variables were related to attention control difficulties.”
The assessment of screen media use among the children occurred through self-reported data collection.
Overall, the findings demonstrate how bedtime media use may be associated with poor sleep among children. Further research is warranted.
