Mommy, I had a bad dream…

If you’re a parent you’ve probably heard that before.  And if you are, or once were a child, you’ve probably said that before!  And whether you’ve been the parent, the child, or both in that situation, you probably didn’t sleep as well that night.  What if there was a way to decrease that experience?

A study in the journal Pediatrics looked at this very issue recently and had some interesting findings:

1. Children who had “screen time” after 7pm had more problems with insomnia, nightmares and daytime sleepiness.  (“Screen time” meant TV, computers or video games, and it didn’t seem to matter if it was Clifford, YouTube videos, Facebook or a scary movie.)  

2. Children who watched violent content–at any time of day–also had more sleep problems.  

So if your child and you are struggling to get a good night sleep, and one or both of the above applies, perhaps making an adjustment or two will help….Sweet dreams!