Wired and Tired: Electronics and Sleep Disturbance in Children

Wired and Tired: Electronics and Sleep Disturbance in Children Published on March 12, 2011 by Victoria L. Dunckley, M.D. in Mental Wealth Victoria L. Dunckley, M.D. is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in treating children with complex diagnoses and/or treatment-resistant conditions. Does your child have trouble sleeping , concentrating, or getting up in the morning? Do they sleep plenty of hours but seem exhausted? Sleep difficulties in children are on the rise--and I expect this trend will get worse before it gets better.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, estimates for the number of children with abnormal sleep range from one in ten in the general population, to 50-75% in children with mental health or developmental/neurological disorders. In my practice, parents frequently report their child does not fall asleep easily, is restless at night, or is extremely irritable and disorganized in the morning. Adolescents frequently complai