A study has found that teenagers who use electronics before bed get less sleep, which causes them to use more electronics the next day. Teenagers are in the age of technology, and they are very educated on the internet and all things social media. It is rare to see a teenager not looking at a screen all the time, and this can cause some concerns with mom. While there are benefits to teens having access to a smartphone, there are some negative attributes that are important to be aware of. When mom is aware of the possible risks, she can help maintain a healthy relationship between her teen and their phone.
According to Medical Xpress, a new study has found that bedtime and electronics are not a good match for teenagers. This is important as a lot of teens will lay in bed and scroll through their phones before they shut off the lights for the night.
The study was published by the National Sleep Foundation and can be read in full here. It found that teenagers who use smartphones, tablets, and laptops in the hour before bed are more likely to sleep poorly. This means that they are more tired the next day and that can cause them to use more electronic devices the next night.
This begins a vicious cycle of electronics and bad sleep habits. A teenager needs sleep and when they do not get enough of it can have a lot of physical and mental health impacts, including poor focus the next day. The study looked at bedtime habits of 345, 12 to 14-year-old's over a period of half a year. An impact was even shown by just having electronic devices in their room at night. When a teenager has an electronic device in their bedroom, it can lead them to use it more.
This may be a hint to mom to institute a “quiet” hour right before bed and ban electronics from their room that night. Maybe encourage the use of other activities before bed, like word puzzles or reading that can help to calm the mind down before bed. The concern with devices is not only the blue light, which has been shown to cause poor sleep but the content they are watching. Watching viral videos and playing popular games can overstimulate a teenager’s brain, making it more difficult for them to wind down for the night and get a full nights’ sleep.
Sources: Medical Xpress, Science Direct