We live in a world where children use mobile phones, tablets, and televisions daily to talk to their friends or to access entertainment and education. But when children use these devices just before bedtime, they can then struggle to fall asleep and they may also have difficulties with staying asleep if these devices disturb them throughout the night. This can result in them having inadequate sleep.
Poor sleep can then have a negative impact on your child’s health and wellbeing, mood and behaviour, and also their concentration and memory. All of these effects can lead to academic, social, emotional, and behavioural problems at school and at home. This article will look at ways to prevent your child from having inadequate sleep by creating a tech-free zone for them to sleep in.
How Using Technology Can Affect Your Child’s Sleep
The amount of sleep a child needs varies between individuals, but in general, primary school children should get between 10 and 12 hours of sleep each night, and this drops to 8 to 10 hours for adolescents. Using digital devices before bed can affect the amount of sleep your child gets in a number of ways:
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The light emitted from digital screens can confuse the brain into not thinking it is nighttime.
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The electromagnetic radiation from devices disrupts the release of melatonin, which is the hormone that helps to regulate sleep.
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The excitement of the content consumed on the device can induce a “fight or flight” response which can inhibit the onset of sleep or prevent a deeply restful night of sleep.
How To Create A Tech-Free Zone
The effect of using technology before bed can over time reset your child’s body clock so that their sleep onset time is moved to later in the evening. This can then lead to a sleep deficit and increases the likelihood of health and behavioural problems. Creating a calm, tech-free zone and bedtime routine for your child is therefore highly important and can be achieved by:
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Not having devices in the bedroom.
This creates a bedroom atmosphere that is conducive to relaxation and rest. Even if you have a quality children's bed and a beautiful bedroom, if there are device surrounding them there is still a chance they will feel tempted to use them. If children wake up in the night, they may look for notifications on their devices if they are in their room. This can stimulate the brain and their sleep cycles are disrupted. The audible notifications on devices can also disrupt your child’s sleep.
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Balancing screen time with activity time.
Ensuring that your child also has time outdoors and time doing physical activities will help to balance out their screen time. Remember that every app is constantly competing for our attention, and the best way for them to get it is to make you addicted to checking it. So to prevent and stop this unhealthy habit, ensure your child’s time is as low as possible by entertaining them outdoors and with physical activities. This will also help to tire them out physically to ensure they achieve deep sleep.
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Have a set downtime for their technology.
Having all your child’s devices go on charge at a specified time each night, in a specific spot in your home is a great way to control your child’s technology usage. Not only is this good for sleep routines but it ensures that the devices are not in the bedroom where they can easily be accessed.
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Set a good example.
Technology is a tool and it is up to us on how we use it. We as parents are responsible for how our children manage their use of technology and electronic media. Make it clear that time with your family is more important than being on your phone, and if you must check something, explain to your children what you are doing and why.
Changing your child’s sleeping environment by removing any distracting technology from the bedroom is a great way to help your child achieve the best rest that they can. Establishing healthy bedtime routines and limiting the use of technology in the evenings can prevent the development of technology-induced sleep problems. We hope this article will help you to create the perfect tech-free zone so that your child can excel and not be held back by poor sleeping patterns.