The Side Effects of Too Much Screen Time

In modern life, electronic devices are an essential part of everyday life – but how can this negatively impact both adults and children? Staring at screens all day can cause dry, itchy eyes and severely affect your sleeping patterns, those bags under your eyes could well be down to spending too much time on your phone – check out the best way to get rid of bags under eyes to try and undo the damage that has been done! Other than the more well-known effects on your eyes and sleep, there are some other issues to consider with regard to screen time.

The negative effects

Obesity – Spending a lot of time engaging in sedentary activity, such as watching TV or playing video games, can be a risk factor for obesity. This can cause lethargy and lead to a higher risk of diabetes, increased blood pressure or cholesterol.

Sleep problems – This has already been mentioned, but why do screens affect your sleep? The blue light emitted from electronic devices interferes with your brains sleep cycle and prevents you from getting a decent night’s sleep. It is even possible that too much screen time can cause insomnia in teenagers. Recently there has been a trend around blue light filtering glasses however, there is no scientific evidence to support this and the best way to combat it is to reduce the time spent looking at screens. Keep devices out of the bedroom and try to avoid them for a least an hour before bedtime.

Neck and back pain – Sitting at a computer or hunched over a video game can lead to bad posture which can cause chronic pain in the neck, back and shoulders. It is important to take regular breaks and walk around, stand up or stretch and make sure your chair has sufficient back support. Also, try to keep the screen at eye level to prevent you from hunching over or craning your neck.

Mental health issues – Screen time can actually negatively affect your mental and emotional wellbeing. Some experts suggest that higher screen time and depression could be connected, as well as an increase in suicidal behaviours.

A National Institutes of Health study has found that children who spent more than two hours a day on electronic devices scored lower on thinking and language tests. Kids with more than seven hours actually experienced thinning of the brain’s cortex, which is related to critical thinking.

Advice on how to reduce screen time.

Be a role model to your children, try to avoid scrolling on your phone too much or leaving the TV on in the background.

Set some time aside to take a break from the screens and get your family to completely unplug for a little while, this is a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together.

Keep the bedrooms as a screen free zone. Make it a house rule that no electronic devices can be used in the bedroom. Kids have a tendency to sneak a look at a phone or tablet when they should be in bed, and this can seriously disrupt their sleep.