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Last updated on Thursday, November 9, 2017
(UNDATED) - If your kids are falling asleep watching TV or with a cell phone tucked under the covers, they’re probably going to bed later and getting much less sleep than kids without access to electronic devices.
Kids spend an average of 6.5 hours a day in front of some kind of electronic screen and the youngest kids are paying for it with less sleep and second-rate sleep quality.
Mobile medica devices has tripled amoung young children aged 5 to 16 in the past six years.
A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics shows why digital media adversely affects sleep.
Monique LeBourgeo associate professor of the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado is the lead author on a new study
She says because the eyes of young children are not fully developed, the light from a screen has a bigger effect on their internal body clock.
"Many parents believe that media - like watching a video or playing a game -calms their children before bedtime but in fact it may be the exact opposite and we may be creating the perfect storm to disruption of both the circadian clock and sleep," she added.
Studies have found that screen time is associated with delayed bedtimes, fewer hours of sleep and poorer sleep quality.
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