Finnish preschoolers achieve sleep recommendations but struggle with screen time, new study finds

Recent preliminary findings from the Sunrise Finland study indicate that Finnish preschoolers are getting adequate sleep. Among the participating children, 95% adhered to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) sleep recommendations for 3 to 4-year-olds, which is between 10 and 13 hours of sleep per day.

However, screen time guidelines—capping daily screen usage at one hour—were met by only about half of the children. Elina Engberg, the project leader at Folkhälsan Research Center, noted that the average screen time recorded was 1 hour and 20 minutes, with significant variations among children; some having no screen time at all, while others spent several hours on screens daily.

Only 20% of the children met all four WHO recommendations regarding movement, sleep, screen time, and sedentary behavior, and while three-quarters met the sedentary time guidelines, around 60% achieved the recommended activity levels.

A notable gender disparity was observed in activity levels, with over 70% of boys meeting movement recommendations compared to just under half of girls. Engberg pointed out that these results should be addressed, as physical activity is an essential aspect of natural childhood development.

The research, involving over 1,000 children and their guardians from various cities and rural areas in Finland, highlighted that children in urban regions were more likely to meet the recommendations than their rural counterparts. Additionally, higher parental education levels correlated with better adherence to all recommendations among children.

The Sunrise study is part of a larger international project spanning 64 countries, keen on comparing children’s physical activity, sleep, screen time, and sedentary behavior across different nations.