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"Want to get your kids to fall asleep faster at bedtime? Turn off the TV. For that matter, turn off the tablet and the laptop too.\nResearchers in New Zealand found kids who had difficulty falling asleep at night were exposed to more screen time within 90 minutes of bed than those with earlier sleep onset. \nThe study, published in the Journal Pediatrics, called \"Presleep Activities and Time of Sleep Onset in Children\" looked at the behavior of over 2,000 children. It examined the association between how much TV the kids watched and how long it took them to fall asleep. \nResearchers concluded those \"participants with a later sleep onset had significantly greater engagement in screen time than those with an earlier sleep onset.\"\nSEE ALSO: Screen Time Before Bed May Be Keeping You Awake\nThis isn't the first time we've heard how screen time can keep you awake at night. A few months ago we reported on a study out of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which found two or more hours of exposure to backlit devices suppresses melatonin by as much as 22%. That suppression, especially in teenagers, can lead to problems getting to sleep at night.\nWhile the New Zealand study looked at younger children and adolescents, you can see the pattern here. Screen time of any kind, whether TV, smartphone or tablet can disrupt your ability to sleep, no matter your age. \nSo what can you do to settle your kids before bed? Try a warm bath and reading a good book. \nDo you let your kids watch TV before bed or do you have other bedtime rituals? Tell us about them in the comments below. \nImage courtesy of iStock, urbancow"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/01/16/tv-time-before-bed/>