In his last sleep blog, your Livonia, MI dentist, Dr. James Stewart, shared some results of this year’s National Sleep Foundation 2014 poll. He discussed the amount of sleep children get, and the role of electronics in the bedroom. In today’s blog, Dr. Stewart continues to share more of the results.
Impact of Electronics on Sleep
The impact of electronics on the sleep of children depended upon whether the electronic device in the room was left on or turned off. The average sleep time for children with no electronics in their bedroom, or who turned the electronics in their bedrooms off at night, was 8.3 hours. For those children who left devices on at night–television, tablet, smartphone, radio or MP3 player–sleep time decreased to 7.6 hours (television/music players) and 7.4 hours (tablet/smartphone). In general, 26 percent of adults read or sent emails after they had initially fallen asleep, with 16 percent of children doing the same. However, 52 percent of the children who did so had parents with the same habit. Sleep quality reportedly suffered for those children who left electronic devices on, even just sometimes, at night.
Sleep Interference
There are several outside factors that can interfere with sleep on any given night. That’s not counting state of mind i.e., stress and worry. Outside factors include noise in the house, outside noise, temperature, lights, pets, homework, and evening activities. According to parents, evening activities was the biggest factor interfering with their and their children’s sleep. Staying up doing homework was another major factor interfering with children’s sleep.
About Your Livonia MI Dentist Dr. Stewart
James R. Stewart, Jr, DDS, PC and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. If you think you or a loved one is dealing with a sleep disorder, call our office today at (734) 425-4400, to schedule an appointment. At Dental sleep Medicine of Michigan, we are committed to forming trusting relationships with our patients so we can work together to achieve sound treatment and a future full of restful nights.
