The time spent on your smartphone may be replacing your sleeping time.

Researchers in Norway have found out in a study of 10,000 16 to 19-year-olds that the longer a young person spends on looking at an electronic screen before going to bed, the worse quality sleep they have.

Teenagers should have a “screen-free” hour before bedtime, experts have said, after new evidence suggested too much exposure to TVs, smartphones, tablets and computers can affect their sleeping patterns.Those who spent more than four hours a day looking at screens had a 49% greater risk of taking longer than an hour to fall asleep and were three and a half times more likely to sleep for under 5 hours a night.

The time spent on electronic devices may be replacing sleeping time and also interfering with the body clock.
Eustace de Sousa, national lead for children, young people and families at Public Health England said that technology use among children was “rapidly changing”. “It is important that we keep abreast of the impact this is having on their health,” he said. “Existing evidence shows that the more screen time children have, the more likely they are to experience attention difficulties, anxiety, depression and poor sleep patterns. Children obviously need to use computers to do homework, but the priority for parents and children is moderation.
"There are simple things we can all do every day with our children to support their wellbeing, which include making sure they get a healthy breakfast, making sure they are active for the recommended 60 minutes per day, asking them about their day and switching some of that screen time into quality family time."

Source: The Independent