www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 45 enjoy an online life might be difficult. However, it’s important to make the effort, according to Liechty, because sleep disturbances often are linked to too much screen time. “One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with overuse of smartphones and other devices is a decrease in the amount of sleep children are getting during normal sleep hours. A child presents complaining of tiredness during the day or, especially during the summer, a child might oversleep,” said Liechty. “What we often discover is that there is a discrepancy between bedtime and the hour at which a child falls asleep. Parents’ jaws hit the floor when they discover that their child may go to bed at 9:30 p.m. but doesn’t actually fall asleep until 2 a.m. or 4 a.m.” “There is a biological process to falling asleep,” Liechty added. “We disrupt that process by the blue-light exposure of our screens dampening the release of our body’s sleep hormone, melatonin. The disruption of that process makes it harder to fall asleep, which makes it harder to wake up. Sometimes, parents will come in concerned about a child’s school performance or ability to focus. Within those visits, we dig a bit deeper and often discover that too much screen time in the evening coupled with poor sleep is the culprit.” Trying to keep kids engaged in other activities so they aren’t swallowed up by their smartphones or other mobile devices can be a challenge. Many parents find it difficult to adhere to hard and fast screen time rules. Cody Fritz of Greenville has three sons under the age of 12. He and his wife, Erin, have worked to try to get ahead of the issues that come with too much tech. “We’re aware of the pitfalls of screen time abuse, but we don’t have a schedule set in stone,” Fritz said. “For us, it’s easier to judge it on the tempo of the household. If something else needs to be happening, the screens go off: gaming consoles, televisions, iPads and Mom and Dad’s phones all get put away. The amount of time spent gaming, or whatever, depends on behavior. If all is going well, they get to play longer. If I assess that someone is having an unreasonable reaction to a game or app, off it goes.” “One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with overuse of smartphones and other devices is a decrease in the amount of sleep children are getting during normal sleep hours."
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