Your health: Babies, toddlers who use touch screens sleep less
Touch screen use affects baby's sleep
Traditional screen time (television and games consoles) has been linked to sleep problems in children, but as portable touch screens (smartphones and tablets) become increasingly ubiquitous, this effect may now be being seen in children as young as six months old, Birbeck University of London reports.
The first study to look at the link between touch screens and sleep in babies and toddlers was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Researchers at Birkbeck and King's College London questioned 715 parents about their child's daily touch screen use and sleep patterns.
They found that babies and toddlers who spent more time using a touch screen slept less at night and, despite sleeping more during the day, slept for less time overall and also took longer to fall asleep.
For every additional hour of touch screen use during the day, children were sleeping for nearly 16 minutes less in each 24-hour period.
Sleep is important for cognitive development - especially during the first few years of life, so the findings have important implications. By 2014, 71 percent of families owned a touch screen device and of the families participating in the study, 75 percent of the toddlers (aged between 6 months and 3 years) used a touch screen on a daily basis, increasing from 51 percent at 6-11 months to 92 percent at 25-36 months.
"These results indicate that the popularity and accessibility of touch screen devices has led to high levels of usage by babies and toddlers, and this is associated with reduced sleep. Future research is now needed to build on this initial study to try and understand whether touch screen use is causing sleep problems and how types of use may mitigate these risks." said Dr. Tim Smith from Birkbeck.
"It's also important to note that one of our earlier studies showed that increased active touch screen use (for example scrolling, rather than passively watching videos) was associated with earlier achievement in fine motor milestones in babies," Smith added. "Before totally restricting touch screen use, which might have potential benefits, we need to understand in-depth how to use this modern technology in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes any negative consequences for young children."
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