Electronics Are Ruining Kids' Sleep

The average American child isn't getting even close to the recommended amount of sleep on a nightly basis, according to new data from the National Sleep Foundation. Electronics, they say, are to blame.

According to  the results of a survey recently conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), children between the age of 6 and 17 are getting up to 17 percent less sleep each night than they should be. Children ages 6 to 10, have reported getting an average of just under nine hours of sleep each night, which is actually over an hour less than the their recommendation. Likewise, children ranging from the ages of 11-12, 13-14, and 15-17 who are supposed to be getting eight-and-a-half hours of sleep nightly, turn out to be only getting 8.2, 7.7, and 7.1 hours of sleep each night respectively.

Interestingly, the NSF blames this trend in children -- and even in adults to a lesser extent -- on electronic devices, particularly those with LED screen. According to commentary that accompanied the survey's release, the high intensity of the light from our electronic devices' screens can actually trick the brain into thinking the sun is out.

This occurs when photoreceptors in the retina measure amounts of light and dark, signaling the status of the outside world to our brain. According to the NSF, this signaling is paramount to regulating or circadian rhythm, which helps determine sleep drive and alertness through the regulation of various hormones. When the brain detects more dark, and it is around the time you regularly sleep, your body will begin to generate melatonin, an agent that helps you fall asleep. However, if that darkness is interrupted by a powerful and flickering (undetectable to the naked eye) light source such as the screen of a laptop, smart-phone, or television, the brain can be tricked into thinking there is a need for wakefulness and the melatonin is actively suppressed.

It should be noted that despite the data, parents are reporting that they do value their children's sleep. More than 90 percent of the parents surveyed across the U.S. said that adequate sleep would help their children perform better daily, and have been trying to enforce new bedtime rules. Rules such as banning texting and tweeting once in bed, the NSF suggests, can go a long way to ensuring that children get the sleep they need.

The survey results were released by the National Sleep Foundation on March 3.