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One of the greatest challenges parents and
teachers will face will be Electronic Screen
Syndrome (ESS), the collective effect
About this blog
electronics will likely have on your student’s
Dr. David Sortino holds a Master’s degree in
learning brain. Today’s students, aged five to
Human Development from Harvard University
sixteen, spend an average of six and a half
and a Ph.D. in Clinical/developmental
hours a day in front of a screen, compared
Psychology from Saybrook University. In
with around three hours per day in 1995,
addition, Dr. Sortino holds learning
according to market research firm Child
handicapped, resource specialist and multiple
Wise, (2015). Teenaged boys spend the
subject teaching credentials and consults with
longest, with an average of eight hours!
parents and schools in the areas of
Eight-year-old girls spend the least or three-
achievement motivation and school success.
and-a-half hours, according to the studies.
Moreover, his workshops and talks are designed
Screen time is made up of time spent
to provide parents and teachers with up-to-date
watching TV, playing video games,
research concerning The Child’s Learning Brain.
consoles, using a mobile phone, computer
For additional information please
or tablet.
contact: davidsortino@comcast.net or 707-829-
8315 (office) or 707-480-1649 (cell).
The effects of ESS on the child’s brain with
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respect to sleep, diet, family dynamics,
behavior, and school performance have all
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12/5/2019 Electronic Screen Syndrome: Putting the genie back in the bottle | Dr. David Sortino

been well established as having detrimental Archives

effects on their learning brain. An excellent
book, Reset You Child’s Brain (New World
Select Month 
Library, 2015) explores these detrimental
effects as well as offers solutions as how to
control your student’s involvement and Categories
usage of electronics.
Select Category 

For instance, ESS causes a hyper arousal

of your child’s sensitive nervous system that
can become a pattern, creating dysfunction Our Network
in school, at home, or with social
relationships (Dunkley V., 2015). A lengthy
list of symptoms often reflects chronic stress
and/or sleep deprivation. It includes
irritability, depression, changing moods,
tantrums, lower frustration points, poor self-
regulation, disorganized behavior,
oppositional-defiant behaviors, poor
sportsmanship, social immaturity, poor eye
contact, insomnia, learning difficulties, short
term memory, tics, stuttering, etc. (Dunckley,
2015). Further ESS can exacerbate
psychiatric, neurological, behavioral and
learning disorders, and thus help to account
for the higher incidence of ADHD. (Over the
past 10 years the incidence of childhood
ADHD has increased 50%).

Moreover, research shows that certain

populations are particularly effected by ESS.
More vulnerable are boys, younger children,
and kids with pre-existing psychological
conditions or developmental learning and/or
behavior disorders. However, a problematic
family history, youthful initial exposure to
screen time and high amounts of total
lifetime exposure have also been linked as
precursors to the above symptoms.

Dr. Dunckley recommends that negative

symptoms can improve and/or resolve with
what she describes as electronic fasting,
that is, the strict removal of electronics for
several weeks. She describes a three week
fast or longer which can have a positive
effect on the child’s brain. For example,
within days the child’s initial negative
reaction play – tearfulness, anger, arguing,
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12/5/2019 Electronic Screen Syndrome: Putting the genie back in the bottle | Dr. David Sortino

and on – subsides. Also the child’s mood,

attitude, and compliance begin to improve.
The child begins to sleep better, and may go
to bed earlier.

Within weeks meltdowns become less

frequent or less severe, or both. The child’s
attention improves, sometimes dramatically,
and the child stays on task more easily.
Within months, grades may markedly
improve. Meltdowns diminish further and
may resolve completely, and mood stabilizes
further. The progresses more quickly when
learning attention-subjects, such as math
and reading.

The physiological effects of electronics

fasting can set into motion a healthier brain.
Dunkley explains, “there is a
resynchronization of circadian rhythms
(sleep), allowing melatonin to be secreted
earlier in the evening and in larger
amounts.” Moreover, melatonin is a
precursor to the brain chemical, serotonin,
which keeps us calm and happy.
Interestingly, melatonin exists in much
higher levels in children and suppression of
it is considered as a cause of early onset
puberty. Furthermore, electronic fasts cause
the brain chemistry to experience an
immediate shift toward normalcy, once
melatonin is no longer suppressed. More
importantly, the chemical dopamine
(neurotransmitter) is no longer forced into a
“surge and deplete” pattern, which would
support better mood and attention spans,
especially with ADHD children. Lastly,
removal of ESS will induce the nervous
system to seek out more balanced
stimulation by physically interacting with the
environment (nature deficit syndrome).

In addition, the beauty of electronic fasting is

that the neurotransmitter dopamine is
moved from that surge and deplete cycle to
one of organization and self-regulation.
Unfortunately, the genie is out of the bottle
and to enact a cold turkey response or an
electronic fast approach might seem
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12/5/2019 Electronic Screen Syndrome: Putting the genie back in the bottle | Dr. David Sortino

impossible for many ESS addicted children.

However, one strategy that parents could
employ would be a combination of electronic
fasting and a brain training program called
neurofeedback. Neurofeedback has been
defined as the Level 1 – Best Support for
Attention and Hyperactive Behaviors by the
American Academy of Pediatrics ( 2013).

ESS is a highly addictive stimulus that

affects our brain’s ability for organization
and self-regulation. Bottom line:
Neruofeedback helps the brain to self
regulate, become more organized. calm and
focused, the opposite effects of ESS.
Applying both approaches would soften the
extremes of electronic fasting and (maybe)
put the genie back in the bottle?

For additional information, visit other articles

on this blog by Dr. David Sortino at the
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, or his blog at
neurofeedbackinstitute.blogspot.com

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By David.Sortino | November 16th,

2015 | 0 Comments

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