Psychologists suggest that reducing children’s screen time by just three hours a week can significantly improve their mental health.
A team of psychologists and mental health experts from several Danish institutions suggests that cutting children’s screen time by just three hours per week can significantly enhance their mental health.
According to a report from Medical Xpress, a team of psychologists and mental health experts, who conducted research with British experts, published their findings in the journal JAMA Network Open. They explained how they conducted clinical trials on 89 families, reducing screen time on various devices and examining the effects.
Previous research indicated that children who spent long periods watching movies or videos, engaging with social media, or playing video games on various electronic devices faced risks such as antisocial behavior and difficulties in managing emotions, leading to mental health issues.
Taking this previous research into account, the new study aimed to assess the extent to which reducing or eliminating these activities could improve mental health and how quickly such changes could occur.
To detect these changes, researchers conducted a clinical trial with 89 families, including 181 children from 10 cities in Denmark.
All participating children completed questionnaires to evaluate their social skills, general behavior, emotional stability, and overall mental health.
Subsequently, 45 families were instructed to limit their children’s use of electronic devices to only three hours per week outside school hours.
To ensure compliance with these instructions over two weeks, video monitors were installed in the participants’ homes.
After two weeks, all children were asked to complete the same questionnaire again.
As a result, the research team observed significant improvements in the children’s social skills, as well as reductions in emotional and behavioral issues.
