The Adverse Effects Staring at Screens Has on Both Adults and Children
Screens of various kinds can be found in the homes of virtually everyone in this day and age. Despite the growing body of research suggesting that spending too much time in front of screens can adversely affect both adults and children, reducing the amount of time spent in front of screens can help your family improve their health. This is true even if your family already spends a significant amount of time in front of screens. Find out the negative impacts of staring at displays for extended periods and receive tips on reducing the amount of time you spend using electronic devices.
The effects of screen time on your health
It doesn’t matter if your entire family is gathered around the television or just in the background: spending too much time in front of a screen may be harmful. Your health may suffer in several different ways if you spend an excessive amount of time in front of a screen, as will be discussed below.
1. Obesity
Spending excessive time engaging in sedentary activities such as watching television or playing video games is one of the factors that might lead to obesity. The condition of a person’s heart can impact their risk of acquiring diabetes and their likelihood of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
2. Not enough sleep
The light emitted by electronic devices interferes with the brain’s natural sleep cycle, making it more challenging to have a pleasant night’s sleep. To get a better night’s sleep, staying away from screens for at least one hour before bed is recommended.
3. Constant Sore back & neck
Poor posture and ongoing pain in the neck, shoulders, and back might result from excessive time in front of a screen. Instead, get up from your seat every once in a while to stand, stretch, or stroll about the room. Make an effort to maintain the device at eye level, and check to see that the chair you’re using provides sufficient support for your back.
4. Feelings of anxiety and melancholy
The amount of time you spend in front of screens may negatively affect your mental and emotional health. Experts believe that spending more time in front of a screen may be linked to feelings of depression, as well as an increase in suicidal impulses and a general decline in one’s capacity to read other people’s emotions.
Some suggestions to cut down on screen time
Although reducing screen time to just a few hours per day might not be possible, the following suggestions can help you and your family spend less time in front of electronic devices.
1. Demonstrate responsible use of electronic devices
Children look up to and emulate their parents as role models. Remember that you set an example for your children the next time you sit down to watch many episodes of your favourite OTT series in one sitting. Keeping the television on in the background or scrolling through your phone whenever you have a spare minute is probably not the best way to model the behaviour that you want your children to exhibit.
2. Set aside time to unplug
Find a time that works for everyone in your family to turn off the phone, the TV, and the computer. Your family will have the opportunity to spend more quality time together if you can convince everyone to put away their electronic gadgets.
3. Use parental restrictions
You can filter out or block information using the many available options. You can even establish daily screen time limits that lock your children out of apps once they have reached the predetermined length of time they have been using the app.
4. To encourage participation in other activities
It is straightforward for today’s children to become overly reliant on technological devices for entertainment. Please enable them to participate in activities such as playing outside, reading a book, or playing a board game instead of spending time in front of a screen, like you did when you were their age.
5. Keep bedrooms screen-free
Consider instituting a policy that specifies electronic gadgets are not permitted in the bedroom. This also applies to tablets and other handheld devices, which your children may be tempted to use at night and which may prevent them from getting a good night’s sleep.
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“Saral hu Saadharn nhi” (Simplicity is not Ordinary). This phrase encapsulates her entire existence. A woman of few words, a daydreamer, who is certain that there is life beyond stars. An HR professional who began her writing journey when corona knocked on our doors. A Content Writer, Screenplay Writer, and published Author. She is die-hard romantic and that reflects in her quotes, poems and short stories and currently working on her first book. She enjoys cooking, dancing, singing, travelling, and is a huge Bollywood enthusiast. She is a wife, a mother and a friend you can most certainly rely on.
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