Health/Sci-TechLifestyleVOLUME 20 ISSUE # 10

Screen use again tied to preschoolers’ sleep, behavior issues

Many 4-year-olds spend this prime year of early childhood perfecting the arts of picky eating, skipping naps, waking up before the adults do, and indulging in the digital babysitter.

But new research suggests a specific relationship between screen time, sleep, and behavior problems that parents of young children should know about. Researchers in China found that greater screen time is linked to greater sleep problems among preschoolers. The two things are also linked to an increased risk of hyperactive behavior, attention issues, and emotional problems, which may lead children to seek to use screens even more. Ultimately, the researchers concluded, this can become a cycle.

“More screen time is linked to a greater chance of experiencing hyperactive and inattentive behaviors, such as being fidgety and unable to stay still, along with emotional issues like often complaining about not feeling well physically, having headaches or stomachaches,” said researcher Shujin Zhou, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Early Childhood Education at Shanghai Normal University in China. “Additionally, we observed that extended screen time results in poorer sleep quality for children, with symptoms like trouble falling asleep at night, shorter sleep periods, and being more likely to wake up during sleep.”

Screen use should be limited to an hour or less per day for children ages 2 to 5 years old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which acknowledges that well-designed educational programs like Sesame Street can aid development of social, language, and reading skills. Prior research has linked screen time with a higher risk of attention and hyperactivity problems in children. It’s also well established that screens affect sleep in people of all ages. But don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re using screens with your young child, said child psychologist Miller Shivers, PhD, an infant and early childhood clinical psychologist at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The key is limits, and just as this latest study suggests, a focus on quality sleep may be more of a priority than counting every second that the digital babysitter is on duty.

“If you’re using it just for the fact of ‘I’ve got to cook dinner, so let them just be entertained,’ that’s fine,” said Shivers, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Also, we know that if you’re a parent of little kids who have behavioral problems, you tend to use more screen time, right? Because you just need a break sometimes.”

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