Babies Are Losing Sleep—And Touch Screens Are to Blame

‘The sight of tiny babies playing with touch screens is not exactly a new phenomenon. Toddlers strapped in strollers watch cartoons on their parents’ smartphones. Young children with headphones larger than their heads bump into you on the sidewalk. And it’s no longer unusual to walk into a restaurant and notice that at many tables, every family member is chatting or texting away on their phones. But for all of the convenience and entertainment the digital age has given us, there are significant setbacks with lasting consequences.
A study by Scientific Reports published last year revealed that there is a significant correlation between the use of touch screens with sleep problems in infants and toddlers. Traditional screen time, such as television and video games, is well known to affect sleep, but with the ubiquitousness of touch screen devices—phones, tablets, cameras—the link between media and loss of sleep may be consequential for infants and toddlers as well. This is particularly worrisome because when infants are unable to get the amount of sleep they need, their cognitive development is threatened.’
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