Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders, Technology, Weight Research / 13.12.2017
Parents Encouraged To Keep Screen Devices Out Of Kids’ Bedrooms At Night
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Marsha Novick, MD
Associate professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine,
Penn State College of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The results of this study solidify some well-established data concerning childhood obesity – namely that children who watch more television and have a more sedentary lifestyle are more likely to have an overweight or obese BMI compared with those who are more active. The survey results highlight some associations between increased technology use and difficulty with sleep quantity in children and adolescents.
The data suggest:

- Increased technology use at bedtime, namely television, cell phones, video games and computers, is associated with a decrease in the amount of sleep children are getting. These children were more likely to be tired in the morning and less likely to eat breakfast.
- Specifically, children who reported watching TV or playing video games before bed got an average of 30 minutes less sleep than those who did not, while kids who used their phone or a computer before bed averaged an hour less of sleep than those who did not.
- The data also suggests that children with overweight or obesity were more likely to have trouble falling asleep and trouble staying asleep than their normal BMI counterparts
- When children were reported by their parents to use one form of technology at bedtime, they were more likely to use another form of technology as well.