Average Daily Screen Time Research Articles

Physical activity and objectively assessed sleep in 6-month-old infants in Taiwan.

Adequate physical activity is associated with improved sleep in adults. Such associations, however, vary greatly across studies in pediatric populations, with no studies involving infants found in the literature. This prospective observational study was designed, therefore, to examine the association between physical activity and sleep patterns in infants. A total of 183 healthy infants aged 6 months wore an actigraph for 7 days to measure physical activity and sleep. Parents and caregivers completed a sleep-activity diary over the same period documenting the different types of infant activities. Daily mean time spent in screen-time-or-limited physical activity, including screen-based (e.g., watching television or other electronic devices) and non-screen based activity (e.g., quiet play or restricted infant movement when carried by caregivers or seated in high chairs, swings, or bouncer seats), was 6.68 hr (SD = 1.99), which represented 47.50% of daytime waking hours (SD = 13.73). We found that 65 (35.5%) infants engaged in some screen time during the study, with 10 (5.5%) infants having an average daily screen time >30 min. In our multivariate linear regression model, more hours of screen-time-or-limited physical activity per day were significantly associated with a decrease in total daily 24 hr sleep duration (p < 0.01). Findings from our study suggest that reducing screen-time-or-limited physical activity might be an approach for promoting adequate sleep and lengthening infant daily sleep duration.

Should Parents Allow Their Children Use Smartphones and Tablets? The Issue of Screen Time for Recreational Activities.

Previous research has shown that children are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) and blue light emitted from digital screens compared to healthy adults. This paper presents the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted in Yasuj, Iran, to investigate the screen time habits of children and adolescents and its potential impact on their health. A total of 63 participants, including 44 boys and 19 girls, were randomly selected for the study. The results showed that the average daily screen time for the children was 87.38 minutes, with a standard deviation of 49.58. When examining the specific purposes of screen time, it was found that the children spent an average of 17.54 minutes per day on screens for school assignments, 70 minutes per day for recreational purposes, and 23.41 minutes per day for contacting family, friends, and relatives. Our study highlights that a significant portion of the children's screen time was allocated to recreational activities. We observed some differences in screen time between girls and boys. Boys had a slightly higher overall daily screen time, primarily driven by more recreational screen time. However, girls spent slightly more time on screens for school assignments. The screen time for social interactions was similar for both genders. Our findings on the cognitive performance of children with different levels of screen time will be published in a separate paper.

Computer/Mobile Device Screen Time of Children and Their Eye Care Behavior: The Roles of Risk Perception and Parenting.

This study assessed the computer/mobile device screen time and eye care behavior of children and examined the roles of risk perception and parental practices. Data were obtained from a sample of 2,454 child-parent dyads recruited from 30 primary schools in Taipei city and New Taipei city, Taiwan, in 2016. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from students and parents. Fifth-grade students spend more time on new media (computer/smartphone/tablet: 16 hours a week) than on traditional media (television: 10 hours a week). The average daily screen time (3.5 hours) for these children exceeded the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations (≤2 hours). Multivariate analysis results showed that after controlling for demographic factors, the parents with higher levels of risk perception and parental efficacy were more likely to mediate their child's eye care behavior. Children who reported lower academic performance, who were from non-intact families, reported lower levels of risk perception of mobile device use, had parents who spent more time using computers and mobile devices, and had lower levels of parental mediation were more likely to spend more time using computers and mobile devices; whereas children who reported higher academic performance, higher levels of risk perception, and higher levels of parental mediation were more likely to engage in higher levels of eye care behavior. Risk perception by children and parental practices are associated with the amount of screen time that children regularly engage in and their level of eye care behavior.

Time for a view on screen time

In Britain today, children by the age of 10 years have regular access to an average of five different screens at home. In addition to the main family television, for...

438 Relation between Screen Time and Metabolic Syndrome among Emirati Adolescents

BackgroundUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the highest rates of type to diabetes mellitus in the world. This aimed to determine relationship between screen time and metabolic syndrome (MetS)...

Screen-based sedentary behaviours among a nationally representative sample of youth: are Canadian kids couch potatoes?

To determine the percentage of Canadian youth meeting screen-time guidelines and to identify characteristics associated with different screen-time behaviours. Using nationally representative data collected from the 2008/2009 Youth Smoking Survey (YSS), we analyzed three screen-time behaviours, cigarette smoking, weekly spending money, self esteem, region and grade by sex, and conducted four logistic regression models to examine factors associated with more than 2 hours a day of sedentary screen time. Of 51 922 Canadian youth in grades 6 to 12, 50.9% spent more than 2 hours per day in screen-based behaviours. The average daily screen time was 7.8 (± 2.3) hours. Males and current smokers were more likely to report over 2 hours per day watching TV and videos or playing video games, whereas students in higher grades and those with weekly spending money were more likely to report playing or surfing on a computer. Youth with higher self-esteem were less likely to report spending over 2 hours per day in each of the three screen-time behaviours examined. Developing a better understanding of the factors associated with more hours of screen time is required to develop and target interventions that reduce screen-time behaviours.

Relationship between screen time and metabolic syndrome in adolescents

The primary objective was to determine the dose-response relation between screen time (television + computer) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents. The study sample included 1803 adolescents (12-19 years) from the 1999-04 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Average daily screen time (combined television, computer and video game use) was self-reported. MetS was defined according to adolescent criteria linked to the adult criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program (> or =3 of high triglycerides, high fasting glucose, high waist circumference, high blood pressure and low HDL cholesterol). After adjustment for relevant covariates, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for MetS increased in a dose-response manner (P(trend) < 0.01) across < or =1 h/day (1.00, referent), 2 h/day (1.21, 0.54-2.73), 3 h/day (2.16, 0.99-4.74), 4 h/day (1.73, 0.72-4.17) and > or =5 h/day (3.07, 1.48-6.34) screen time categories. Physical activity had a minimal impact on the relation between screen time and MetS. Screen time was associated with an increased likelihood of MetS in a dose-dependent manner independent of physical activity. These findings suggest that lifestyle-based public health interventions for youth should include a specific component aimed at reducing screen time.