UNIPE 2016/1

TEXTO:

Children’s hospital builds sleep app

An app to improve children’s sleep has been
launched by doctors at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in
London. It gives personalized advice to parents of 0-16
year-olds to tackle the different sleeping problems that
[5] crop up at different ages. It is currently available free on
iOS. Android and Windows versions will follow.
Initial advice starts after entering details about
bedtimes, where the child falls asleep, how much screen
time they have, and caffeinated drinks consumption. After
[10] five days of recording a child’s sleep habits, such as
night-waking and bedtimes, the full personalized service
kicks in. “Hopefully they are sleeping in the normal
range, but if they’re outside that, then it advises parents,”
Paul Gringras, a professor of children’s sleep medicine
[15] at the hospital, told the BBC News website. “Take a
five-year-old who suddenly is waking up every night
screaming, doesn’t recognise parents and pushes them
away. The app would say it is like a night terror and will
happen in 10% of children in this age range and they will
[20] grow out of it, but parents can also try a technique called
scheduled waking half an hour after they have gone to
bed.”
In another scenario, the Kids Sleep Doctor would
advise parents of teenagers unable to sleep until really
[25] late at night (and are then too tired for school) that
exercise in the afternoon is as powerful as any drug for
promoting sleep. “These are not annoying daily tips, it’s
tailored advice,” Prof Gringras added. The app has been
designed in a dark and orange palette to minimize the
[30] amount of blue light emitted — which is the wavelength
of light that most disrupts sleep.
The app has also been designed to reduce
pressures on the health service rather than make money.
“I think there’s a lot of people it could prevent needing to
[35] see a doctor. Parents can do a brilliant job,” added Prof
Gringras. However, the roughly 200,000 children with
serious sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or obstructive
sleep apnoea would need to see a doctor.
Psychologist and child therapist Professor Tanya

[40] Byron commented: “Many children are affected by sleep
problems which can have a major effect on the whole
family. “Getting a good night’s sleep is so important for
a child’s physical and mental development, behavior and
concentration — to name but a few. “We know parents
[45] know their children better than anyone, and I’m confident
that the ‘Kids Sleep Dr’ app will help parents to understand
and better manage their child’s sleep problems.”

GALLAGHER, James. Disponível em: <www.bbc.com/news/health32150528>. Acesso em: 12 out. 2015. Adaptado.