A new study done in the US has shown that children exposed to media before bedtime, or violent content in the media, are more likely to experience sleeping issues. Shauna O’Carroll reports.

Recurring nightmares sound like a normal phase for children to go through but sleep specialists say media exposure is a contributing factor to irregular sleeping patterns. Image: dcmpnad

Dylan wakes from his slumber with a start, he is covered in sweat and shaking from head to toe.

Dylan has been experiencing recurring nightmares for a few months now, as well as having issues with getting to sleep and repeatedly waking during the night.

“I thought that maybe it was just a phase he was going through,” said Sharon O’Neill, the mother of Dylan.”

“You hear from every parent that their child has problems sleeping, so you think it is normal behavior,” she said.

Dr Arthur Teng, Head of the Department of Sleep Medicine at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick said that it is a common perception for parents.

“There is the perception that this is normal behaviour for children, but it can be more.”

A new study done in the US has shown that children exposed to media before bedtime, or violent content in the media, are more likely to experience sleeping issues.

Dr. Chris Seton, sleep specialist for Westmead Children’s Hospital, believes that not all children’s sleep is affected by media exposure.

“It is not applied to all children, some children are unaffected by the media and others are sensitive to it and sensitive to content,” he said.

“During the time of the bushfires a few years ago, we had a lot of children having recurrent nightmares and dreams about their house burning down. Media is the conveyor of information to children in general.”

Sharon said that Dylan is exposed to television before bed, however she never thought that it would be extensive enough to cause issues with sleeping.

“I know lots of parents whose children watch television before bed and they don’t have a problem at all,” she said.

“I mean everyone gets nightmares, even adults, and everyone can have problems with sleeping.”

Through his work Dr. Teng has found that nightmares regularly occur in children, through media exposure or not.

“Nightmares are very common in children, they are affected by what happens in life during the day. If something bad happens it plagues on the mind and can become a nightmare,” he said.

In his treatment of sleep disorders in children, Dr. Seton said that monitoring the media exposure for patients is a key part of treatment.

“When we look at night terrors, nightmares, an inability to sleep and waking in the night, we have a blackout period of media up to an hour before bedtime as part of our treatment,” he said.

Sleep Medicine is a relatively new concept in the world of medicine; with the study of childrens’ sleep beginning only twenty years ago.

However, Sleep Medicine is gaining momentum is Australia, with the public becoming aware of the positive and negative effects of sleep on the functioning body.

“In 1992 when I started my work on children sleeping disorders at the clinic I saw 2 patients a day.” said Dr. Seton.

“Now on a busy day I will see up to 40 patients.”

Research has shown that illnesses and disorders common to children may actually be attributed to sleep disorders and sleep deprivation.

“Children who have undiagnosed sleep disorders have emotional, behavioural and physical problems. They are labelled with other disorders because of their behaviour, they have trouble learning and have decreased social skills,” said Dr. Teng.

Dr. Seton agrees, saying that he is pleased that the public is more aware of the problems of ineffective sleep, as it is helping to diagnose and treat children accordingly.

“Once the message gets through, people are informed, it heightens awareness, which is a good thing,” he said.

“Often a sleep problem is labelled as something else, such as a behavioural disorder, and once you know it is a sleep problem you can fix them. They don’t have to have the stigma of their previous label for the rest of their life.”

Sharon said that after speaking to a sleep specialist she is trying new things to change Dylan’s sleeping patterns.

“He doesn’t watch television anymore before bedtime, or have exposure to any other media,” she said.

“I make sure the lights are dimmed and that we do something that is relaxing, like reading instead.”

Sharon said it is only simple changes that will cause a world of difference. “His sleeping has improved so much since I made these changes,” said Sharon.

“He isn’t experiencing as many nightmares, he doesn’t wake during the night and he has more energy during the day because he is getting enough sleep.”

Sleep specialists believe that all it takes is more awareness of the effects of sleep on the body for a significant change in public perception and the difference in children getting diagnosed and getting the help they need.

“It has increased just through awareness,” said Dr. Seton.

“People who have been referred become aware, parents become aware. Anything with the media, especially on television, about sleep issues in children, triggers a whole lot of referrals.”

“As I tell my medical students, sleep is the centre of the medical universe, it affects every part of your body, mentally and physically,” said Dr. Teng