A recent study out of Canada reveals that the presence of televisions and videogame consoles in childrens’ bedrooms can cause anxiety and prevent sleep.
Researchers conclude that having this technology in the room encourages the child’s brain to see the bedroom as an entertainment zone, or in the case of violent video games, even a danger zone. This puts the child on edge and wires the brain not to want to sleep.
The study also suggests that this technology-induced lack of sleep results in impaired academic performance, especially in math and in tasks that require memory skills. Oxford University’s Journal of Pediatric Psychology published a study showing that losing even an hour of sleep can badly affect school performance. Conversely, moving bedtime 60 minutes earlier makes kids calmer and improves their concentration.
Dr. Jennifer Vriend, of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia is the lead author of the paper in the Canadian study. She pointed out that, “when we sleep, what we learned during the day gets consolidated.” She also wrote that, “Adequate sleep leads to better emotional stability, more positive mood and improved attention, which are all likely to improve academic success.”
Dr. Vriend’s study, which measured sleep duration and performance also found that “one of the biggest culprits for inadequate sleep and disturbed sleep is technology. Many teenagers,” says Dr. Vriend, “sleep with their phones and they are awakened regularly by it ringing or vibrating throughout the night when they get a text, email, or Facebook message.” Not a really wise way to get a good night’s rest.
And speaking of wisdom, Proverbs 3 describes its rewards: In verse 24, it says “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Wise parents might want to help their children think through some limits on technology use at bedtime.
Putting away phones at bedtime might be a good first step. A study done last year by the UK’s consumer media watchdog, Ofcom, found that teenagers send an average of 193 texts every week, more than double the number they sent the previous year.
Another wise idea: no TV’s in kids’ bedrooms. Ofcom reports that 70 percent of teens in the UK have TV’s in their rooms. About the same percentage of kids in the US have TV’s, and a recent study links this to another problem here, childhood obesity.
Limiting technology in the bedroom isn’t a bad idea for adults either.
One recent morning when I didn’t have a pressing place to go, with my phone on vibrate and in another room, I looked up and found I’d read my Bible and prayed for an hour longer than I’d planned. I’m enough of a workaholic to know that the presence of a phone or computer in the room would have distracted me from that sweet time. It’s good to carve out respites from technology.