Here's why you need to cut down on your child's screen-time
| Updated: Sep 28, 2018, 17:07 IST
In today's day and age, children are simply more comfortable being in front of a screen than running around in the park, like the good old days. Whether it's the computer screen or the television screen or the mobile, a new study states that screen-time could be hampering your child's brain functioning.
Limited screen-time and improved sleep have been associated with the strongest links to improved cognition, while physical activity may be more important for physical health, according to the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. “Behaviour and day-to-day activities contribute to brain and cognitive development in children, and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep might independently and collectively affect cognition,” said Jeremy Walsh, of CHEO Research Institute in Canada. “Evidence suggests that good sleep and physical activity are associated with improved academic performance, while physical activity is also linked to better reaction time, attention, memory, and inhibition,” added Walsh.
“The link between sedentary behaviours, like recreational screen-time, is unclear as this research is in the early stages and it appears to vary depending on the types of screen-based activity,” he said. As part of the study, 4,520 children from 20 sites across the US were analysed to estimate the child’s physical activity, sleep and screen-time.
“We found that more than two hours of recreational screen-time in children was associated with poorer cognitive development,” said Walsh.
Limited screen-time and improved sleep have been associated with the strongest links to improved cognition, while physical activity may be more important for physical health, according to the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. “Behaviour and day-to-day activities contribute to brain and cognitive development in children, and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep might independently and collectively affect cognition,” said Jeremy Walsh, of CHEO Research Institute in Canada. “Evidence suggests that good sleep and physical activity are associated with improved academic performance, while physical activity is also linked to better reaction time, attention, memory, and inhibition,” added Walsh.
“The link between sedentary behaviours, like recreational screen-time, is unclear as this research is in the early stages and it appears to vary depending on the types of screen-based activity,” he said. As part of the study, 4,520 children from 20 sites across the US were analysed to estimate the child’s physical activity, sleep and screen-time.
“We found that more than two hours of recreational screen-time in children was associated with poorer cognitive development,” said Walsh.