MINNEAPOLIS - A new sleep survey has found that there is something keeping kids awake at night and it's the same thing plaguing some parents.
Along with pillows and blankets, electronic devices are now a common accessory in bedrooms.
A new poll by the National Sleep Foundation said more than a quarter of adults read emails and text messages in bed. The problem is, so do about 16 percent of kids.
Experts believe that these devices are stealing sleep which sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Imran Khawaja of Hennepin County Medical Center, said is a bigger problem for kids.
"The kids are growing and they need the sleep for their brain development and their body's development," he said.
The poll said just more than 70 percent of kids have a some sort of electronic device in their room while sleeping and that those who leave those devices on could be losing up to an hour of sleep each night.
Khawaja said that the problem goes beyond just being distracted.
"These devices emit white and blue light which affects our body's internal clock and shifts our sleep time further away."
He said that's because our bodies read that blue light as daylight.
Khawaja suggests making kids put away the devices and turn off the television one hour before bed. Parents should do the same.
"My advice would be to be role models for their kids so they should get rid of any electronics from their own bedrooms as well."
While younger children need 10 to 11 hours of sleep a night. Teens needs eight-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half hours. Parents in this poll said their kids were getting one to two hours less than that. So keeping electronic devices out of their bedrooms may be even more important.
Make rules, enforce them and set a good example, Khawaja advised.
This same poll found that kids who have bedtime rules sleep an average of one hour more per night that children without rules.
For those who use these devices as an alarm, Khawaja said turn off your phone, put it in airplane mode and turn it upside down at night so any light it may emit won't disturb your sleep.
