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This article does not provide medical advice for individuals or their specific problems. Such advice should be obtained from a health care provider.
Studies consistently show the negative effects of screen time on the quality and duration of sleep in children and adolescents. To date, information on the effects of electronic screen exposure on infants has been limited.
A recent longitudinal study published in the June 2019 journal Infant Behavior and Development reports on the negative effects of electronic screen time exposure and sleep duration in infants 3-6 months of age.
Researchers at New York University and the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom reported on electronic screen exposure times and sleep pattern data from 429 infants 3-6 months of age.
Parents (mostly mothers) completed a sleep questionnaire including the amount of time their infants slept during an average night and during an average day. Parents also recorded the average number of times their infants awakened during the night and the degree to which they consider their infant’s sleep to be a problem.
On average, infants slept a total of 13 hours in a 24 hour period, with nearly one hour per day of electronic screen exposure.
The researchers found that increased screen exposure time correlated with decreased sleep time. Further analysis showed that screen time exposure most affected night time sleep duration. On average, one hour of screen time exposure was associated with 13 minutes of sleep loss per night.
The researchers findings are in support of studies in older children and adolescents: that increased screen time exposure will adversely affect the quality and duration of sleep.
Limitations of their study include lack of causality between screen time exposure and sleep loss and the self report by parents. Timing, content, and type of electronic screen devices were also not reported.
This latest study on the effects of screen time on sleep duration in infants is in support of similar studies in children and adolescents.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has published guidelines recommending no screen time in infants under the age of 18 months.
Parents of newborn children should be aware of the negative effects electronic screen time exposure has on infant sleep patterns.
Article References:
Ribner, AD, McHarg GG, The NewFAMS Study Team. Why won’t she sleep? Screen exposure and sleep patterns in young infants. Infant Behavior and Development 2019:57 Print in press
Chassiakos LR, Radesky J, Christakis D, Morena MA, and Cross C. Children and adolescents and digital media. Pediatrics 2016: 138(5)e20161124
Pediatrics Vol. 138 No. 5 November 01, 2016 (Published online November 01, 2016) e20162591
No Screen Time Best for Baby's Sleep
July 21, 2019
by: Dr Randy McCool
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