A study titled “Association between Information and Communication Technology Usage and the Quality of Sleep among School-Aged Children during a School Week” from the School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland, sought to determine the association between communication technology (ICT) usage and quality of sleep in school-aged children during a school week.
Researchers concluded that intensity of information and communication technology does seems to interfere with the quality of sleep, with low-use participants sleeping better than the high users.
According to the new research, all 61 subjects, 10–14 years of age, were monitored using a portable device (Holter monitor) to measure heart rate variability (HRV) over a 24-hour period, while an activity diary was used to record in 15-minute intervals.
High amount of ICT use by children and adolescents may destroy good sleep pattern,” concluded researchers. “In particular the sympathetic overdrive may continue to the early sleep and cause a delay in parasympathetic recovery. The length of restorative sleep might shorten, which is a health risk for physical and cognitive health among children. In experimental conditions prolonged video game playing caused disruption to adolescent sleep. Because sleep is very important for adolescence growth, cognitive functioning, and physical health, the results are of concern.”
Source: PubMed
