如何守护孩子们的睡眠？

How tweens use their electronic devices before bedtime can have a major impact on how well —and how long —they sleep, according to a new study.

The study involved nearly 9,400 11- and 12-year-olds who are part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a large, long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.

Researchers asked the tweens and their parents detailed questions about how they used screens around bedtime and how well they slept; the researchers then followed up a year later. A majority of the tweens in the study —72% —had their own cellphone.

One surprising finding: Silencing phone notifications before bedtime was associated with less sleep than turning off the phone completely, says Dr. Jason Nagata, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study.

"So if your phone is not completely off, teens may still be woken up overnight by vibrations or lights," Nagata says. "Or if they have any difficulty falling asleep, it might be easier for them to just check their phones if they're bored or have any sleep disruption."

One out of five tweens in the study reported checking their phones if they woke up overnight, which Nagata says can lead them to become more awake or aroused, making it harder to fall back asleep.

He says a better strategy is to keep smartphones out of the bedroom altogether overnight: The study found that adolescents who did so got more and better-quality sleep, a finding that persisted over the year.

Overall, using electronic devices for any purpose while in bed —whether to text, stream videos or TV shows or play games —was associated with less sleep.

"I think the key take-homes for parents or preteens are to just avoid social media or any electronic devices, especially an hour before bedtime," Nagata says. "If it's possible to keep the devices outside of the bedroom, I think that's the most effective."

Nagata and his colleagues say their research points to several best practices for parents.

1. No screens for an hour before bedtime.

2. Turn phones all the way off at night.

3. Resist the urge to check the phone if you wake up in the middle of the night.

4. Keep phones outside the bedroom at night.

And that advice goes for grownups too.

"After doing these studies, I have changed my habits," Nagata says. "I used to have my phone off, but in the room. But now I try to put it outside the bedroom, and it has actually been more effective for me as well."

一项新研究表明，青少年在睡前使用电子设备的方式会对他们的睡眠质量和时长产生重大影响。

该研究涉及近9400名11岁和12岁的青少年，他们是美国青少年大脑认知发展研究的参与者，这是一项针对大脑发育和儿童健康的大型长期研究。

研究人员向这些青少年及其父母详细询问了他们在睡前如何使用电子屏幕以及睡眠情况，一年后又进行了随访。研究中的大多数青少年（72%）都拥有自己的手机。

旧金山加利福尼亚大学儿科学副教授杰森·永田博士是这项研究的负责人，他说，一个令人惊讶的发现是：睡前将手机通知设为静音与完全关闭手机相比，前者的睡眠时间更短。

永田说：“所以，如果手机没有完全关闭，青少年可能仍会在夜间被震动或灯光吵醒。或者，如果他们入睡有困难，当他们感到无聊或睡眠受到干扰时，就更容易去查看手机。”

研究中有五分之一的青少年表示，如果他们在夜间醒来会查看手机，永田说这会让他们变得更加清醒或兴奋，从而更难再次入睡。

他说，一个更好的策略是整晚都将智能手机放在卧室外：研究发现，这样做的青少年能获得更多、质量更好的睡眠，而且这一发现在一年的时间里都得到了印证。

总体而言，在床上出于任何目的使用电子设备——无论是发短信、播放视频或电视节目还是玩游戏——都与睡眠时间减少有关。

永田说：“我认为，对于家长或青少年来说，关键要点是要避免使用社交媒体或任何电子设备，尤其是在睡前一小时。如果有可能将设备放在卧室外，我认为这是最有效的做法。”

永田和他的同事们表示，他们的研究为家长们指出了几条最佳做法。

1. 睡前一小时不使用电子屏幕。

2. 夜间将手机完全关闭。

3. 如果半夜醒来，要克制查看手机的冲动。

4. 夜晚时将手机放在卧室外。

而且这些建议对成年人也同样适用。

永田说：“做完这些研究后，我已经改变了自己的习惯。我以前会把手机关掉，但放在房间里。但现在我会试着把它放在卧室外，实际上这对我来说也更有效了。”

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