Children Using Smartphones at Night Have Shorter Sleep Duration

Poor Sleep Quality Caused by Electronic Devices... Teens Aged 13-18 Should Sleep 8-10 Hours a Day

(Photo by Getty Images)

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] Children who use electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets at night have been found to have shorter sleep durations and poorer sleep quality.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense, Denmark, pointed out in the online edition of the British medical journal BMC Public Health on September 30 (local time) that children aged 6 to 15 are most affected by video games, computers, mobile phones, internet use, and TV watching.

For children under 5 years old, TV and tablets were identified as the main culprits stealing sleep time.

The SDU research team examined the correlation between electronic device usage and sleep patterns in 49 papers published between 2009 and 2019. They checked children's bedtime, sleep onset (the transition from a fully awake state to sleep), sleep quality, sleep duration, and daytime fatigue.

As a result, for children aged 6 to 12, it was found that later bedtimes and poorer sleep quality were due to electronic device use. For children aged 13 to 15, sleep onset difficulties were also caused by prolonged exposure to electronic device screens.

The researchers pointed out that poor sleep quality experienced by teenagers is attributed to social media. They speculated that interactive media excessively stimulates the brain, leading to shorter sleep times.

Regardless of age, blue light from screens suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone known to induce sleep. Therefore, sleep duration decreases and the natural sleep cycle is disrupted.

Lisbeth Lund, a researcher at the National Institute of Public Health affiliated with SDU who led the study, warned, “Children and adolescents need to get enough sleep to avoid health problems.”

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) recommends 9 to 12 hours of sleep for children aged 6 to 12, and 8 to 10 hours for adolescents aged 13 to 18.