13 boys between 14 and 18 were chosen and allowed to play 50 minutes of a game. It took 7.5 mins compared to a film’s 3 mins to fall asleep.
Some of the group played 50 minutes of Call of Duty because “it is the maximum amount of continuous play recommended by game marketer Sony Corp.” That’s not exactly something they want to shout from the rooftops though. Keep playing!
”Eleven teens took longer to fall asleep after playing the video game than after watching the documentary, while two fell asleep faster. Four teens actually fell asleep during the documentary, a slow-moving and tranquil movie that was chosen to provide contrast to the frenetic video game,” detailed the study, reports GamePolitics.
It took, by median time, 7.5 minutes to fall asleep for those who played Call of Duty 4 whereas it was just 3 minutes for the movie watchers.
“Results suggest the direct effect of presleep video-game playing on adolescent sleep may be more modest than previously thought, suggesting that surveys linking stimulating presleep activities to poor sleep need substantiating with empirical evidence.”
Child Psychology Professor Michael Gradisar of Flinders University, study research lead, said, “Despite finding that they were mentally stimulated playing the video game, I believe the ‘dose’ of 50 minutes was too low to have any major ramifications on their sleep.”
“Being limited to 50 minutes didn’t allow the teens to become emotionally invested in the video game.” We all know teens are immune to emotional attachment to anything if it’s not with them for at least 52 minutes… c’mon people it’s basic science.
“These results are a bit surprising, in that a stimulating activity right before bedtime did not alter teens’ established sleep patterns. This is good news for parents,” commented Grand Theft Childhood co-author Cheryl Olson.
Do you breeze past the 50 minutes of recommended playtime often? Does videogaming tend to keep you awake longer than you’d like when trying to nod off?
