It&#x27;s likely that there are many factors at work. You&#x27;ll hear everything from changes in diet, too much TV, too much social media, too much time in front of the iPad, etc.<p>As an anecdote to perhaps corroborate yours, it felt impossible for me to get up at 7am every morning M-F from the ages of 9-22. It also felt highly unnatural to be doing so at all, as a majority of my friends experienced the same thing -- a very shifted sleep schedule which started later in the evening and lasted 8+ hours into almost noontime. Of course this could all be due to too much TV, too much social media, too much iPad, etc.<p>As for the article, play seems central to development. It certainly plays a role in bonding formation[1] and neural development[2]. However, just like every other factor, it&#x27;s just hard to suss out its relative weight compared to everything else a child experiences during development.<p>My personal view is that this is all very speculative. When we can model the brain better, whether it&#x27;s through more carefully controlled studies or even through machine intelligence simulations, we will actually be able to determine its real value. Though, I do suspect its high.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;pediatrics.aappublications.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;119&#x2F;1&#x2F;182.full" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;pediatrics.aappublications.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;119&#x2F;1&#x2F;182.full</a>
[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.npr.org&#x2F;sections&#x2F;ed&#x2F;2014&#x2F;08&#x2F;06&#x2F;336361277&#x2F;scientists-say-childs-play-helps-build-a-better-brain" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.npr.org&#x2F;sections&#x2F;ed&#x2F;2014&#x2F;08&#x2F;06&#x2F;336361277&#x2F;scientis...</a>