It will be about a couple of days, the director of the Sleep Disorders Clinic of the National University of Mexico, warned that the main cause of insufficient sleep syndrome is overexposure to electronic devices. This syndrome consists of sleep disturbances that make it difficult to properly attend to various daytime activities such as studies, sports, etc; and it could coincide with the phenomenon of 'vamping'.
The appearance of new behaviors related to the use of technology has been common; they tend to be labeled if they are harmful to people. In any case, the use of different devices with connectivity is a constant cause of discussions within hundreds of families around the world; It is difficult for parents to find the balance point, and to convey the need to comply with the rules.
This behavior of nocturnal exposure to the screens, is known as 'vamping', and I imagine that the name put will influence that vampires (or at least the bats that inspired these legendary beings) love the night, in fact they live in her. Well, nowadays there is a tendency for teenagers to stay connected at night.
And no, we do not need to be scandalized because adults are the first to be able to spend hours on the sofa in front of the television (and on weekdays), and we know from experience how tempting the silence of the night is. Thus, if when we were younger (and mainly in summer), we left our homes - with or without parental permission - to meet with our peers; today the night is perceived as a new relationship opportunity, only that marked by the insulation that mark the walls of the room.
Does the night confuse you?
In the first place, it should be noted that the confluence of changes in hormones related to sleep (melanin, cortisol), and others, causes waking cycles to change during adolescence. That is to say that after a certain age, sleep is not reconciled at the same timeIn fact, bedtime could be delayed until almost 20 years old, when one is already biologically adult.
Let's understand this: the rhythms during adolescence are different from those that mark the dream of a small child, or an adult. That explains that a teenager is better off staying awake at night (question of hormones, we would say), the problem comes when they must enter the institute at 8 the next day
But that is one thing, and another that a child under 13 or 14 years old is allowed to be in his room with a device connected to the Internet ... at one in the morning. However, Let's review the reasons they may have, to (perhaps) understand them:
In any case, technology-related habits should be reviewed by families, because we all need to sleep, regardless of when we fall asleep. Of not resting the minimum hours, it will be noticed quite likely in academic performanceSince when the body does not meet its most basic needs, it is not for 'artificial' goals (however important training may seem to us, it is much more important for the body to stay in condition).
Sleep little and what else?
For a minor in early / middle adolescence (up to 15 or 16 years old) it would be a risk expose yourself to the internet without a minimum of supervision, and now is not the time to detail every inappropriate behavior or contact that occurs due to misuse. The fact is that having several hours ahead of you to be connected without being disturbed by anyone can be a lot of fun, but it facilitates intensive exposure to (for example) cyberbullying.
Sleeping and going through all the phases of sleep is necessary to develop well, to regulate the metabolism, even to have a positive state of mind; are compelling reasons to get them to sleep the minimum acceptable hours. Will you tell me, what about when they party? I think in this case we should consider it an exception, but the rule should include established habits.
Solutions?
It occurs to me that when we talk about teenagers, these need freedom, maybe if you can achieve small goals in this regard during the day, you do not need to steal hours of sleep. For a 14-year-old person, no matter how much our son is, we cannot program him until the last minute of his daily life, nor should we pursue him to tell us how it went, and we will not be scared by a change in habits that make our little boy in someone willing to fit in with the peer group, or even to fully discover their sexuality.
But there is no complete freedom if you live in a group, so there must be minimum standards at home, especially if suggesting limits is not going to affect their development as people. So there is no choice but to regulate the use of devices, 'prevention is better than cure' goes the saying; And on this topic I have to tell you that there are already described several cases of damage to school performance due to spending part of the night online.
Finally: although it seems old-fashioned, do not stop suggesting reading (so that they relax before going to sleep), and invite them to maintain an adequate pace of physical activity daily, even if they do not practice regulated sports.