As if we really needed anything else affecting a teen's mood and sleep, recent research shows that Internet use and texting can have a serious, detrimental effect on both sleep and mood. At a conference in Canada, U.S. researchers explained that more than half of kids and teens who text or surf the Internet:
The study showed that on average, a teenager sends a total of 3400 electronic message per month -- that is more than 100 per day! When exactly are they in school? And here was the kicker: the author of the study, Dr. Peter Polos, said that on average, kids were texting or e-mailing 33.5 times per night to more than three different people (3.7)! And these electronic messages would occur anywhere from 10 minutes to four hours after the child's bedtime!
While this is not the first time I have written about this topic, the data in this study are pretty amazing. What can a concerned parent do? Here are three tips:
1) Education is key: letting children know how the use of these electronic devices can affect their sleep and their performance the next day is critical in giving them the tools to monitor their own behavior.
2) Set an electronic curfew: One hour before bed, kids need to turn off all the electronic devices that they normally use and participate in the Power Down Hour™:
3) Have the device in question out of reach: Charge cell phones in a special room, and computers can be turned off or placed on a timer.
Yes, the information superhighway is a great tool for education and communication, and yes, cell phones can keep us in touch with our friends and loved ones, but when these devices begin to invade our sleeping world, as parents we need to adjust access for our kid's better health. And parents, we can take a tip and apply these rules to ourselves, as well; my guess is that our sleep and mood are also affected by nighttime e-mailing and texting.
Sweet dreams,
Michael J. Breus, Ph.D.
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor
We don't fundamentally understand sleep, and we make a lot of assumptions about what normal patterns of sleep entail. The few cultural anthropologists who've looked at it have recognized that the supposed ideal pattern we assume in stories like this -- 8 hours or more in a quiet, darkened room -- was certainly not seen as the norm until modern industrial society came along. Nor is it the norm now; people elsewhere in the world have quite different ideas about what a night's sleep is like.
In medieval Europe, for one example, people took it as granted that they'd wake up in the middle of the night. It was the "night watch." They used the time for reflection, to fool around with their spouses, and so on.
There may be valid things to say about limiting the glowing devices, sure. Let's not get all doctrinaire, though, if we don't really understand the doctrine we're espousing -- or the physiological and cultural forces behind it.
Because there is not reason whatsoever that it could be the PARENTS...!!>.....
Structured, calendared, planned, maximized, we do live in a Modern Age when the machine has become the master. Of course, no matter how mighty the machine, it's still no match for Mega-Boss Circuit Breaker. But, who's going to throw the switch, and start going to bed when the sun goes down?