The Relationship of Screen Exposure with Sleep Quality and Self-Regulation Skills in Preschool Children

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate possible links between screen time, self-regulation skills and sleep quality in preschool children. Material and Methods: The study was carried out with 140 mothers with 4-6 years old children who visited the family medicine outpatient clinic between March and May 2022. Children’s age, gender, existing chronic diseases, the most used technological product, purpose of use, time and duration were recorded. Children’s sleep habits were evaluated with the “Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ)”, and their self-regulation skills were evaluated with the “Self-Regulation Skills Scale for 4-6 Years-Old Children(Mother Form)(SrSS)”. Results: The median age of the children in our study was 60 (48-72) months. 75/140 of the participants were girls. The most used technological product at home was the smartphone (48.2%). 64% of the participants reported less than 2 hours screen time, 21.6% of them reported between 2-4 hours and 14.4% of them reported over 4 hours. Educational status of mothers (p=0.003) and fathers (p<0.001) of those with a lot of screen exposure was lower. Delay in falling asleep score, one of the CSHQ subscales, was higher in those with screen exposure over 4 hours (p<0.001). Self-regulation skills scale total score (p=0.001), attention (p=0.014), inhibitory control-emotion (p=0.004), and inhibitory control-behavior (p=0.029) sub-scale scores were lower in children with longer screen time. Conclusion: Excessive screen exposure in preschool children is associated with delay in falling asleep and low self-regulation skills.