Samar Fatima Ijaz, Iftikhar Ijaz.
Impact of Excessive Screen Use on Sleep Habits in Children during Covid-19 Pandemic.
Pak Paed J Nov ;45(4):395-400.

Objective: To determine the impact of excessive screen use on sleep habits in children during COVID-19 pandemic using Children`s Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Place & Duration of Study: Conducted from 1st July to 30th November 2020, in the Department of Pediatric Medicine Unit II, King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore. Material and Methods: A 22-item likert scaled online questionnaire, assessing children`s sleep habits (Children`s Sleep Habits Questionnaire) before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, was circulated among parents having a child from 2-10 years age. Responses were analyzed with SPSS V.26 Results: Out of 102 children, majority 46 (45.1%) were between 6 and 10 years, the type of screen used most was mobiles i.e. 28 (27.5%) followed by TV/mobile 21 (20.6%). There was marked increase in their screen time/per day from <2hrs before pandemic in 63 (61.8%) to >2 hours during pandemic in 81 (79.4%). As a result, sleep habits were significantly affected during the pandemic, especially in the domains of bed time, sleep behavior and morning wake up. During pandemic, children slept late at night 91 (89.3%), majority sleeping >8 hrs/day (p=0.000), could not wake up early in the morning (p=0.000), and remained tired (p=0.026) and sleepy (p=0.005) whole day. Conclusion: Excessive screen use during the pandemic was associated with altered sleep habits in children.

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