Maybe Screen Time Before Bed Doesn't Affect Sleep After All?

Great news for many of us: a new study from the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) showed that contrary to what we've been taught, most kinds of screen time before bed do not negatively affect sleep. 

The study was of 79 children ages 11 to 14 years old. Screen time before bed did not have a measurable impact on how long the children slept. However, screen time in bed led to less sleep, particularly when the child was engaged in either multitasking or playing video games in bed. 

What does this mean as parents? It means -- if the results hold -- that we no longer have to shy away from screen time before bed. Friday movie night is no longer a problem!

That being said, we do need to watch out for screen time creeping into sleep time. So don't let Friday night movie night push bedtime later, or that will negatively affect sleep. 

And for us adults, well, the same holds true. Scroll in bed all you like, just don't stay up later as a result. 

Here's the link to the original article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2822859

PS If you are struggling to get your kids to sleep at bedtime and sleeping peacefully through the night, schedule a free consult and find out how you can get your family back on track in 2 weeks or less, guaranteed.