Technology & sleep deprivation.

I was watching a story on Four Corners (an Australian respectable current affairs programme - 1 story, 45 minutes and the show has been running for 40 years), about sleep deprivation and how technology is impacting on it.

The part that interested me was a psychologist who declared that allowing a television, phone or computer in a child's bedroom was sabotage. It seems teenagers have to have their phones with them all night - "in case a friend needs them at 4am."

The lack of sleep was causing poor attendance at school, poor grades and in the end - health problems, diabetes and obesity mainly.

SO I am curious:
what electronic equipment do you have in your bedroom?
what time do you normally go to bed, or how many hours of sleep do you get a night?
can you live without your mobile phone?

My daughters are 12 & 14. They have no mobile phones (and aren't getting them either). There are no televisions in any rooms other than the living room. The computer is in the kitchen and there are no laptops.

Regular bedtime is consistent and always has been. At this age, they are in bed by 9pm on a school night. Friday and Saturday, they choose their own bedtime.

Now, I asume that some of you will see this and gasp- that's harsh. Keep this in mind - the 14 year old tends to wander off to bed by 8.30pm by her own volition most nights. The weekend nights she tends to go by 10pm. The younger goes normally about 11pm.

All of the sleep specialists and psychologists recommended exactly what we have always been doing. Some friends have foreecast doom and gloom through rebellion for being restrictive about the things mentioned. So far so good and it is funny to see their lives running out of control. We are content.

So now, how about you guys - give me age if you choose to, it gives perspective.

I have a TV in my room, but I only use it for gaming. I always turn off my phone at night as well, it saves on battery.

As for how much sleep I get, I would say I normally get about 8 hours. However, as it's the summer holidays now it will probably be a bit more, although to be honest I don't really know what time I go to bed/get up anymore.

I'm 17. My bedroom contains just a bed, literally. The main room i spend my time in is the "computer room", basically where all the technology is, the computer and etc.

I usually sleep at 11/12 till around 7 weekdays, 9 weekends.
Decent amount of sleep.

My mobile phone is only really used for the rare call/text to friends. Main purpose of it is for emergencies. I can certainly survive without one.

I have a TV and Computer in my room, but I generally have both off by 11:00 unless there is a big game I am watching. Don't have a cell phone, so no problems there. In the end, I generally end up with 8-9 hours of sleep every night.

PC, Gamecube, PS2, TV, DVD plyaer, stereo.......

Tends to vary a lot. When I have something decent to do/watch, like my recent obsession with Farscape then pretty late, possibly even up all night. Otherwise any time from 11:00 ish to 3:00 ish.

Probably, helps a bit though, specially contacting people.

When i have coursework to do...i sleep for about 2 hours (5-7...then off to school). (Its my own fault but i can't get motivate to do any of it until the last day...)

Normally i go to bed at around midnight...i try to sleep at 10...but its always midnight by the time i get to bed...

And the summer holidays...i sleep at around 2 or 3...then wake at around 11...i'm trying to get out of that habbit but its hard...

Oh and the only thing i have in my room is a PC.

( Edited on 14.08.2007 15:15 by ZeroSimon )

ZeroSimon said:
When i have coursework to do...i sleep for about 2 hours (5-7...then off to school). (Its my own fault but i cant get motivate to do any of it until the last day...)Normally i go to bed at around midnight...i try to sleep at 10...but its always midnight by the time i get to bed...And the summer holidays...i sleep at around 2 or 3...then wake at around 11...im trying to get out of that habbit but its hard...

I have to admit, that as a teenager, I tended to sleep in until at least 11am and sometimes as late as 3pm when not a school day. I sufferred the same malaise as you as a kid - leave it until the last minute. I was lucky though, I aced the exams anyway (I knew I could, so that perhaps fuelled the laziness).

It appears so far that my kids are getting a lot more sleep than you guys - especially Modplan Man.

TV, 360, Wii, Surround sound, laptop,DS think thats about it.
I probably could survive withought my phone because I could use msn or bebo but I use my phone as a watch or somtimes as an MP3 player now so it would be annoying not having it.
I've been going to bed around 5am recently, mainly because it's the summer and I don't realy have anything to do in the morning most days. Plus i'll be heading to florida in the next few days so it's good practise

Ah, Florida, the place where Americans go to die.

Ah Florida, America's wang.

So what is youir plan for Florida?

I have alot of technology in my room and I do mean alot, but as far as ive found it does not affect my sleep.

Laptop, Desktop, TV, Projector, DVD Recorder, CD player, Surround Speakers, Amplifier, Stereo, Ipod, Wii, 360, and a host of other small devices.

I have been going to bed around 4 am just recently, it was 2am but the summer has made me extend that time a little.

My phone is never put by my bedside table while I am sleeping, I move it onto my bookshelf with good reason, that being the radiation. My Wi Fi router is on 24/7.
At night I use my laptop rather than my desktop which probally emits more radiation that can disrupt the release of sleep hormones.

I excersise well and eat well, so I rarely suffer sleep problems. If I have been to the Gym as you can here in London in the early hours of the morning <24/7> I do find it hard to sleep. I do worry about radiation most of all, and the unkhown effects or undisclosed effects in the long term it can have on the body. When I have my own house and do not share I will not have any such technology in my bedroom.

I dont think what you do is harsh at all, it's for their own good at this critical time. In Ceylon kids are in bed a 8.00pm on the dot and are then up as early a 6am to walk several miles to school!, as many have to do. There is very little light polution in some parts, sleeping can be very easy when that is so. No traffic also, but then crickets and other creatures of the night can keep guests awake who are not used to the sounds of the night. You do get used to it with time, so much so that you cannot sleep in silence apparently, that makes a little sense. {LS]

( Edited on 14.08.2007 16:12 by Linkyshinks )

I have a TV in my room (only used for video games,) and I tend to keep my cell phone in my room (I hate phones and hardly use them, but it's for emergencies.) It doesn't interfere with my sleep. If I'm tired, I don't usually play a video game. However, I have trouble sleeping sometimes and I would just be tossing and turning all night in bed, so what difference does it make if I play a game?

im 18 and have:

TV, DVD player, VCR, Computer, Laptop, Mobile Phone, PS3, Gamecube, XBox, NES, SNES, N64, DS, GBA, PSP, Hi-Fi system, surround sound, sub woofer, iPod, a shitload of DVDs (and i keep getting more and then watching them a year later), way too many computer games and the internet (wired or wireless). a lot of things have been there for ages (such as TV, VCR, DVD)

i usually go to bed anywhere between 2am and 4am if i go at all, and wake generally between 9am and 2pm (6am on Saturdays, 7am when i had school)

( Edited on 15.08.2007 14:03 by Grrr )

I take my DS into my bedroom and charge it up at night. Of course, there is the 'No playing on your DS at night' rule but I still play on it at night (Heh heh.... They haven't caught me yet!). . Then, if I can't get to sleep, I listen to the radio or my 1st gen Ipod shuffle.

26" HDTV, 32" HDTV, Surround Sound, Laptop, Mac Mini, PM, Sky +, Xbox 360, (pimp) GameCube, PS3, PSP, iPod, DS and keep my phone near me almost always. I am 19. Used to go to sleep at 2 or 3 but now due to work its about 12:30 - I usually get around 7 hours sleep.

I'm kinda bad at this.

In my bedroom there is the Linux rig, the laptop (KIA ), the Wii, The TV, The DVD, the various portables and (although technically not counting, can keep me up), the Guitar.

I'll sleep at anything from 11 till not at all.

At Sprites I have the DC, Her PS2, My GC (In Coma), her DS, and My PS1.

All good!

A stereo, books and a guitar, a couple of drumsticks. I usually get around 10 hours worth of sleep though. Get up at 9.

Have my laptop with me at all time when I am home. In my dorm at school I have my laptop, Wii, Tv, DS and whatever my roommate has.

I'm 16. I've got a tv, dvd player, stereo, alarm clock, some portable games, a guitar and sometimes an amp and a keyboard (I move them between my room and the office where the computer is).
When I go to bed everything in my room is off except the alarm clock. During the school year I try to go to bed at 10:00 (sometimes I'm up until 11:00). I get up at about 6:50.
During summer (which will sadly end Monday...), I go to bed when I get tired, which is usually around 2:00. Then I get up around 11:00 unless I have to be somewhere earlier (not often). I love not having a summer job.

I get about 8 hours of sleep during the school year. 9-10 during the summer.

And my phone is off when I sleep. It saves batteries and I don't want to talk to anyone at 4 am anyway.

Man, my kids must be the only Western kids with absolutely no technology in their bedrooms - except electricity of course.

I tend to believe that all forms of entertainment should be in the communal areas. Families tend to drift apart when everyone effectively lives seperately within the house (not that necessarily applies to everyone, some keep keep a balance even with temptation).

My partner and I have never even had a television in our bedroom, right through our 29 years of co-habitation. That helps in not being a hypocrite.

I see your point there- having tvs etc in bedrooms does make people a bit more insular. That said, teenagers like privacy and their own space, so around that age I don't see a problem with having a tv/etc in their room; what is important is that it has to be much crapper than everything you have in the communal area (e.g. if, in the UK, you have a big-ish tv with cable/satellite, then let them have a much smaller one with just the terrestrial channels or something). That way, they could still play games, watch videos etc, but they'll come down to the living room as well.

I definitely think either having a computer in their room or having a laptop that can be used their is important for kids, as they become a bigger part of study and so on- for kids their room is their office as well, so thats understandable to have. I guess you could potentially set up their computer in another quiet space so its not just in their room, but if you've got a big family with several kids all doing various homeworks/essays etc, its not really feasible to have a single family computer.

For the record, in my room I have: Mac Mini, a powerbook G4, a virgin media box dealie (cable), a tv, a 360, surround sound, the 360 HD DVD player, and I could set up a gamecube/take my wii back from my dad's house if I ever wanted to.

I also have a couple of "electrical" devices that I'm not sure would enter into your consideration- namely my electric guitars, and a couple of acoustic-electric guitars, and a few amps, as well as my cherished DSLR Camera

I have my mobile, and I keep it around me, but I'm not a particularly mobile centric person- I rarely have regular contact with anyone via mobile other than my parents and my girlfriend, and it would probably only be my girlfriend if my parents were together in the same house. Other than that, I'll call people if I need to, but I'm not constantly texting and calling people.

Going to bed is variable- left school now, but while I was at school during term time I'd usually go to sleep sometime between 11:00 and 12:00 and get up at about 7:15/7:30.

I'm currently doing a bunch of webdesign stuff and computer related projects, and it being summer and me having pretty much nothing to do until october, I do find myself sometimes staying up till about 5 in the morning working on something, or at least until 2 in the morning on most nights. That said, I still get the same amoun of sleep- about 7 and a bit hours, regardless.

You going on to university GR or venturing into the big bad workforce or maybe going on an overseas working holiday?

Well this is an interesting topic that has really got me thinking. For about three or four months now, my sleep has been really bad. No matter how tired I felt and when I went, I couldn't fall asleep before at least 2am.

At first I put it down to stress of exams, and then on the back of that, the summer and getting up much later. But I found on holiday this week that I slept much easier. In rooms where there was no electrical equipment of interest to me.

I'm not saying it is related, it's just interesting. Anyway, in my room I have a computer, television, Xbox, Wii, HiFi and some electric guitars and an amp.

Im the same as Linky and Joe really...I could basically live in my room if it came to it. I got all the usual stuff, DVD/VCR with over 150 DVD's and Dolby Pro Digital II connected to the PS3 and TV. PC with 19" monitor with a few music and video apps on (obviously), a mini fridge stocked with water, beer and/or coke and food stuffs. My bass and guitar with the amps, my DS Lite and flashcart and also my mobile which I use on a very regular basis.

As far as sleep goes I can sleep for as long/short a time I want/need and im still pretty full of energ. This holiday ive bin sleeping from about 3am til 6, going for a run til 7, shower, sleeping from half 7 til 11 then getting up, gym, and then daily routene (sp?). Where as school time, I sleep from about midnight til about half 7 on the weekdays, then basically the same as holidays for the weekends.

Soundworks said:
Well this is an interesting topic that has really got me thinking. For about three or four months now, my sleep has been really bad. No matter how tired I felt and when I went, I couldnt fall asleep before at least 2am. At first I put it down to stress of exams, and then on the back of that, the summer and getting up much later. But I found on holiday this week that I slept much easier. In rooms where there was no electrical equipment of interest to me. Im not saying it is related, its just interesting. Anyway, in my room I have a computer, television, Xbox, Wii, HiFi and some electric guitars and an amp.

Not saying you should do this, but there are only 2 real reasons for being in bed - sleeping and sex (the television is a big way to limit that one). Sleeping is something we tend to ignore the value of.

Way back when I studied the subject (and my knowledge is only based on that memory), it was considered vital to get a full nights sleep as the conscious mind required sleep to function properly. When you are asleep, the subconscious mind (the id) takes over, which is why we dream.

Without that rest time, the brain functions at a lower capacity. You are more likely to make mistakes and some of those can lead to death - driving. Ever fallen asleep on the train/bus and missed your stop? Ever fallen asleep at school or completely missed what the hell the teacher was saying?

When you don't have a regular sleep pattern, you can actually forget how to get to sleep. You have to retrained to sleep. You would be amazed at how an industry sleep is and it is growing. This is a manifestation of our 24/7 world. Nobody wants to miss out on something that might happen whilst they were sleeping.

I see your point there- having tvs etc in bedrooms does make people a bit more insular. That said, teenagers like privacy and their own space, so around that age I don't see a problem with having a tv/etc in their room; what is important is that it has to be much crapper than everything you have in the communal area (e.g. if, in the UK, you have a big-ish tv with cable/satellite, then let them have a much smaller one with just the terrestrial channels or something). That way, they could still play games, watch videos etc, but they'll come down to the living room as well.

I think I agree with this. I have a smallish-tv. Probably about 20 inches I guess. I have to use an adapter to hook up anything modern to it (only has a cable jack in the back). I have cheap dvd player hooked to it that plays everything way too quiet. My tv also has a mono speaker. The tv in the living room is 60 inches with surround sound and a good dvd player, a VCR (the only one in the house), and the Wii. Plus it's nice to sit on couches rather than a bed.

Sleeping is something we tend to ignore the value of.

I love my sleep