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New research suggests that the idea that smartphones and tablets ruin a child's sleep is a myth.
According to a study, each hour spent watching a screen costs only three minutes of sleep to a child.
Although there is a link between the fact that technology is not great for children's sleep, researchers say the effects are too weak to make a significant difference.
For example, the average nighttime sleep of a teenager without technology would be eight hours and 51 minutes.
A person who devotes eight hours a day to screens would still benefit from eight hours and 21 minutes – with the overall difference of no consequence.
Other known factors, such as the early beginnings of school day, have a greater effect on children's sleep.
Professor Andrew Przybylski, author of the Oxford Oxford Internet Institute study, said, "This suggests that we need to look at other variables with regard to children and their sleep."
The findings, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, cast doubt on previous studies that an excessive use of gadgets is causing 90% of school-aged children who do not sleep enough.
The theory is that the light of smartphones, tablets and other devices is "short-wavelength enriched", which means that it has a higher concentration of blue light than natural light.
This affects the levels of melatonin, a hormone inducing sleep.
Prof. Przybylski, however, said: "The results suggest that the relationship between sleep and the use of screening in children is extremely modest.
'Every hour on the screen is 3 to 8 minutes less sleep per night.
"Focusing on bedtime routines and regular sleep patterns, such as regular waking hours, are far more effective strategies for helping young people sleep than thinking that screens themselves play an important role."
Research indicating that 50% to 90% of school-aged children may not get enough sleep have prompted calls that the use of technology may be to blame.
Professor Przybylski, however, criticized the small number of samples from previous studies, which attributed the slowness of screen time to children's lack of sleep.
"Because the effects of screens are so modest, it is possible that many studies with smaller samples are false positives, results that corroborate an effect that does not actually exist."
His team used data from the 2016 US National Child Health Survey, in which parents responded to surveys of children's sleep patterns in their own households.
Professor Przybylski said more research is needed to determine if digital displays have an impact on biological mechanisms. In addition, excessive use of devices might not affect sleep patterns at all.
The purpose of the study was to provide parents and practitioners with a realistic basis for examining the screen in relation to the impact of other interventions on sleep.
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Professor Przybylski added, "While there is a relationship between screens and sleep, we need to look at research from the perspective of what is practically important.
"Because the effects of screens are so small, it is possible that many studies with smaller samples are false positives – results that corroborate an effect that, in reality, does not exist.
"The next step is research into the precise mechanisms that connect digital screens to sleep.
"Although" blue light "technologies and tools have been implicated in sleep problems, it is unclear whether the role of causality is important.
"Screens are here to stay, so transparent, reproducible, and robust research is needed to understand how technology affects us and how we work best to limit its negative effects."
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