More TV Means Less Sleep for Kids

Young children who frequently watch television spend less time asleep, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the scientific journal Pediatrics, sets out to confirm what smaller studies and experts have long suggested -- that frequent use of television and other screens makes sleeping more difficult for young children and may even adversely affect their young brains.

According to the study, researchers followed more than 1,800 children. These children were part of a long-term research program with their mothers called Project Viva, which investigates factors that influence children's' health.

Data for the study was collected from questionnaires answered by the mothers when their child was just 6 months old and once again each year for the next seven years. The questionnaires were designed to determine important factors such as how long each child watched television daily, where the televisions were in the house, and how much time the child spent in a room when a television was switched on regardless of whether or not they were watching it. The mother were also asked to report how much time their children slept on an average day.

Following an analysis of the answers given over seven years, the researchers were able to determine a small but noticeable pattern linking higher levels of television exposure to less sleep. According to the results, children lost seven minutes of sleep for every additional hour of television they were exposed to. Interestingly, this link was found to be more prevalent among young boys than girls.

The researchers also found that having a television in the bedroom was linked to at least a half hour drop in average daily sleep among children.

This study, the largest of its kind, helps enforce the idea that prolonged exposure to electronics -- in this case television -- negatively impacts sleep in children. However, the data only provides an association between the two factors and does not explain a cause-and-effect relationship.

Still, the National Sleep Foundation said in a past review of survey data that the bright screens of televisions, computers, and phones may be to blame, as these screens trick the human mind into thinking the sun is still out, and it is no yet time to get some necessary shut-eye.

The study was published in Pediatrics on April 14.