Teens getting junk sleep

Teens are laying down to sleep each night with an electronic halo of gadgets. The computer monitor is the new night light. A nearby cell phone incessantly vibrates with late calls and text messages. Ears are stuffed with an iPod and hands cradle a computer game. A television flickers late night cable.

Sleep experts are warning this rising tide of electronic gadgetry is undermining teenage sleep. They're growing up on junk food and junk sleep. Not only can the gadgets potentially disrupt sleeping teens periodically throughout the night, they keep kids from hitting the pillow at a decent hour as they roam MySpace and reply to another text message.

In a 2006 National Sleep Foundation survey, teens with four or more electronics in their bedroom were significantly more likely than peers to get insufficient sleep. Only 20 percent of American teens report getting the minimum nine hours of sleep required by this age group. There's no way I could resist a computer in the bedroom -- I'm already a daytime e:mail junkie. I agree my sleep is not as restful when the cell phone vibrates a wrong number at 3:30 am. Are gadgets junking up your sleep?