Too many gadgets

One of the key problems contributing to teen sleep deprivation is the “electronic playground” most teens have in their bedrooms. Computers, televisions, video games and telephones — nearly all teens have at least one.

The temptation is irresistible. Adolescents with four or more such items in their rooms were much more likely to get an insufficient amount of sleep at night and almost twice as likely to fall asleep in school, a National Sleep Foundation poll found.

“Most of my time gets lost typing mindlessly to my friends,” e-mailed Jeff Luppino-Esposito, 16.

Dr. Terry Carbone, head of The Center for Sleep Medicine at The Valley Hospital in New Jersey, concentrates on removing, or limiting use of, “the big three” — television, video games, and computers — an hour or 90 minutes before bedtime. These items produce a pulsating light, she says, which interferes with the brain’s production of melatonin, a substance which should be maximized for sleep.

“As parents, we can get the computer or TVs out of their rooms,” she says.

The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)