A new study to be released today by the journal Pediatrics found that preschoolers with televisions in their bedrooms had greater difficulties falling and staying asleep. The researchers also found a connection between watching children watching violent television programming during the day and subsequent sleep disturbances. While the researchers studied preschoolers, it is safe to say that the same holds true for older children as well.

This is not at all surprising. The noise, the light, the content: all of these likely play a role in disrupting the ability to fall and to stay asleep. While turning on the TV may seem an easy fix to getting a child out of sight in the evening, and certainly requires less effort than reading a bedtime story, it is ultimately counterproductive. This is not news for those of us who work with children who have sleep disturbances.

Keeping to a regular schedule in the evenings and a relatively constant wake up time in the mornings; maintaining a fixed bed time routine; keeping the bedroom quiet and dark: all of these, tried and true, will go a long way towards helping a child get a good night's sleep.