“All of the metabolic issues, the weight gain, the posture issues, we’re seeing a lot of visual issues, and of course, the mental health crisis that’s going on, all of these things are related to screen time.” – Dr. Victoria Dunckley.
Dr. Victoria Dunckley is an award-winning integrative child psychiatrist at the Centre for Life in Los Angeles. She is an internationally recognized expert on the impact of screen time on the developing brain. Recently named one of “America’s Top Psychiatrists,” Dr. Dunckley has been featured on Psychology Today, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, and more. She is the author of the groundbreaking book Reset Your Child’s Brain, now published in eleven languages.
During this episode, Victoria touches on important topics to hopefully help parents and children understand the effects of screen time on the brain, as well as ways to stop gaming and focus more on having healthy balanced brains.
Dr. Dunckley elaborates on the following key takeaways:
- The tendencies of children who are gaming vs. children who are staying away from screens.
- Screen time and gaming have negative effects on the development of a child, mentally and physically.
- The “orienting response” is a response that happens naturally to the brain when we see a screen in front of us – it’s stimulating and visually appealing by nature.
- Screens hijack our rewards system – the dopamine sensors in the brain become deregulated and desensitized so it takes more stimulation for the child to pay attention because their brain is telling them that screen-free activities are boring.
- Screens cause increased cortisol stress levels which affect blood pressure and insulin regulation, which directly controls weight gain and blood sugar.
- We’re seeing an explosion in childhood obesity due to the introduction of smartphones at an age when the brain and body are still being developed.
- The best solution is to get rid of screen time completely instead of trying over and over again to regulate it.
- It is important for parents to understand kids do want to spend time with their parents, but a lot of the time, they feel like they are being ignored due to the parents being on their media devices as well.
- Make sure you are present when you are with your children by putting your devices away and designating certain nights for family game night.
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