by
Florence Cardinal
Midnight! Bats fly. Howl of werewolf
Echoes through a crumbling castle.
Ghostly laughter
Haunts deserted hallways.
Mist in clammy tendrils
Rises damply from the swamp.
Grave yards, weeds and molding moss,
Silence shattered by an eerie moan.
Nightmare seeds planted in entranced
And fertile minds ---
Children's' bedtime TV horror drama.
This little poem I wrote years ago is even truer today. It's a proven fact that late night TV and action-packed video games with their slam-bang activity, bright flashing lights and scenes of violence, gore and fright cause loss of sleep. Children are often too stimulated by all the action to fall asleep, or, when they do fall asleep, may suffer from frightening nightmares.
Another problem with nighttime TV is it may prolong the hours before bedtime. What parent isn't familiar with the pleas for "just till this show is over," or "but my favorite show comes on next,' or "just until I win this game." Sometimes it's hard to say 'no.'
But new evidence suggests that even watching daytime TV causes loss of sleep. Jeffrey Johnson, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute has found a correlation between excessive daytime TV watching and insomnia in children.
A study, started in 1975, collected data from a group of 759 children and parents over a span of years. The study revealed that excessive daytime TV viewing cau8sed difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting back to sleep after awakening during the night.
Those worse affected watched three or more hours of TV a day. The majority of these children suffered from sleep difficulties as they moved toward adulthood.
Random interviews of children and their parents at the ages of 14, 16 and 22, revealed that the fourteen-year-olds had more sleep problems than the other age brackets.
The teen years are when children need the most sleep because of the heavy load of schoolwork, facing new situations including new social demands and, perhaps, going to work for the first time.
This is also the onset of puberty, and again TV watching comes into the picture. Another study, this time by scientists in Florence, Italy, revealed that exposure to television may possibly contribute to the premature onset of puberty. This, again, is tied to sleep. Watching TV prohibits the production of the hormone melatonin that regulates sleep. There is also evidence that melatonin has a role in regulating puberty.
It seems that the less TV for your children, the better. Encourage them to read or get involved in sports or other outdoor activities. Limit the hours of exposure to TV and you may find you have happier, healthier children.
