Children sending text messages and working on internet before sleeping are more likely to suffer from poor sleep, bad mood, and cognitive problems, reveals a pilot study.

Use of electronic media like cell phones, laptops, iPads, etc. and continuous texting while sleeping is found to cause insomnia, ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, and leg pain at night in kids aged between 8 to 22 years.
Researchers said, ""These activities are not sleep-promoting, like reading a novel or listening to music. They stimulate the brain and depress normal sleep cycles.""
The study conducted by scientists at the Sleep Disorders Center at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J looked at 40 young JFK Sleep Clinic patients.
The average age of the kids was 14.5 years.
The kids were analyzed by the researchers during September 2009 to May 2010 with the help of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire.
The study results
On an average, participants sent 33.5 text messages or e-mails per night to 3.7 people, which calculated for 3404 text messages per person per month, the study revealed.
The messaging time ranged between 10 minutes to four hours after bedtime.
While girls preferred to talk or text on the cell, boys preferred surfing and gaming online.
Almost 77 percent of the kids reported to be suffering from persistent sleep disorders which took them longer to sleep.
The authors linked these disorders to “irritability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mood swings, anxiety, depression and poor cognitive functioning (thinking skills) during the day.""
The negative effects caused by sleep hygiene and daytime function can be quite significant which can lead to behavioral problems.
Scientists believe that yet larger studies are required to ascertain both short term and long term results of electronic use at night.
The study findings were published as an abstract and are slated for presentation at a conference.
Electronic media provides stimulation
Use of electronic media at night causes stimulation which leads to poor sleeping hygiene.
In fact, the impact of the involved graphics and rapid responses is much higher than that of passively watching television programs.
""Such activity should be monitored,"" the authors told conference attendees in the study abstract. ""Attempts at limiting use at bedtime appear to be reasonable.""
Parents ought to set strict parameters for the use of such gadgets in order to combat sleeping issues in young kids, the researchers advised.
(Source: themedguru.com)