By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 14:27 GMT, 22 January 2019 | Updated: 15:38 GMT, 22 January 2019
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Children who spend hours playing on phones, tablets or video game consoles are more at risk of 'insufficient sleep', research suggests.
A study found that youngsters under ten who get four or more hours of 'portable electronic device' screen time a day are twice as likely to miss out on shut eye.
Portable devices are thought to be more damaging than just watching TV due to children being able to sneak them into their bedrooms during 'lights out'.
Children who spend hours playing on phones are more at risk of 'insufficient sleep' (stock)
The research was carried out by San Diego State University and led by Dr Jean Twenge, from the department of psychology.
Due to electronic devices affecting sleep, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Australian Department of Health all advise children have no more than two hours of screen time a day.
But the rising popularity of phones and tablets in recent years means this recommendation is often exceeded, the authors wrote in the journal Sleep Medicine.
To test the effects of portable versus stationary electronic devices, the researchers analysed the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health - conducted by the US Census Bureau.
The survey questioned the caregivers of 43,755 healthy children aged up to 17 on how often the youngsters used computers, phones, video games or other electronic devices on an average weekday.
Answers ranged from
