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It is becoming increasingly common for children or teenagers to not feel good about themselves, to have angry outbursts or to be depressed. Children who are easily irritated are often exhausted and overstimulated. A constant state of arousal and readiness affects memory and the ability to make connections.
At some point, you may even be diagnosed with ADHD, depression or bipolar disorder and the associated treatments, including therapy and medication. But often these treatments do not work very well and so they enter a downward spiral. How is this possible?
Both parents and practitioners may look at the problem from the wrong angle, because they sometimes forget to look at how the environment influences these symptoms. Such as using electronic devices every day. It always seems that, whether or not an underlying diagnosis has been made, to successfully treat a child it is necessary to eliminate all use of electronic devices for a number of weeks. So that the nervous system can relax.
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When done correctly, this can provide deeper sleep, better mood, better focus and concentration and increase physical exercise. The ability to cope with stress better is growing and in this way breakdowns occur less often and less intensely. A child begins to like the things he or she once enjoyed again and becomes more attracted to nature and his fantasy world. Teenagers become less introverted. And that is a beautiful movement.
At the same time, an electronic pause ensures that less or perhaps even no medication is needed because other treatments become more effective. More sleep, exercise and face-to-face contact with others ensure positive movement. After the electronic break, when the brain has reset, a parent can slowly determine how much use a child can make of a computer or iPad before the signals return.
Banning electronic devices won’t solve everything, but it is often a missing link when children are stuck. But how is it possible that an electronic pause is so effective?
Children’s brains are much more sensitive to electronic devices than most of us realize. You don’t need that much electronic stimulation to disrupt a young child’s brain. Many parents also think that interactive use – internet use, social media use, texting, emailing and gaming – is not harmful, because it is compared to watching TV. But interactive use of electronic devices is likely to increase sleep, mood and cognitive problems.
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Below you will find 5 psychological mechanisms that explain that the use of electronic devices can cause mood swings:
1. Time behind electronic screens causes interruptions in the sleep rhythm
Because the light from electronic devices imitates daylight, it suppresses melatonin, a sleep signal that is released in the dark. Even sitting in front of a screen for a few minutes can delay the production of melatonin for several hours and disrupt the biological clock.
2 .Time in front of electronic screens desensitizes the brain’s reward system
Many children are addicted to electronic devices, in fact, gaming releases so much dopamine that it looks the same on a brain scan as using cocaine. But when the reward system is overused it becomes less sensitive and needs more stimulation to experience pleasure. While on the other hand, we need dopamine for focus and motivation, so even small changes in dopamine can impact a child.
3. Time behind electronic screens produces “light at night.”
Getting light from electronic screens at night has been linked in a large number of studies to depression and even an increased risk of suicide. In fact, animal studies show that exposure to electronic screens before or during sleep can cause depression, even when the animal is not even looking at the screen.
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4. Time in front of electronic screens causes overstimulation, reduced attention and depletes mental reserves
Experts say that explosive and aggressive behavior often hides poor focus. When someone cannot pay attention, it becomes more difficult to process the internal and external environment and small favors grow into huge ones. Because electronic screens cause mental energy to decrease while there is a lot of visual and cognitive input, electronic screens ensure that reserves are low. To temporarily boost depleted reserves you can get angry, so outbursts become a way to deal with depleted reserves.
5. Time behind electronic screens reduces exercise and exposure to nature
Research shows that time spent outside, especially in nature, can improve your concentration and reduce stress and aggression. So time spent on electronic devices reduces the time children would otherwise spend outdoors.
In this day and age it almost sounds crazy to limit electronics for children so much. But when children are struggling and not doing well, we are not doing them any favors by letting them play with electronic devices or ‘cutting back’. It just doesn’t work. By giving the nervous system the chance to calm down and reset, you can help your child become calmer, stronger and happier.
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