Neurologist explained the connection between gadgets and nervous tics in children

Prolonged use of smartphones, tablets, and watching short videos can overload a child's nervous system, provoke sleep disorders, decreased concentration, and even the appearance of nervous tics. Neurologist Dmitry Makarov told Izvestia about this on June 11.

According to him, gadgets create a complex digital load on the child's body. Rapid frame changes, bright colors, loud sounds and a constant flow of information cause excessive activation of the nervous system and increase emotional tension.

"Such a load can lead to overexcitation of the nervous system, which manifests itself in increased anxiety, emotional instability and sleep disorders. In some children, this provokes or enhances tics and compulsive movements," the specialist noted.

According to the doctor, short videos and dynamic content are particularly dangerous. They train the brain to constantly change stimuli and reduce the ability to concentrate on quieter activities such as reading, studying or creativity.

Take action: students have become much more likely to turn to psychologists

Young people have increased attention to their mental health, experts explain

Makarov explained that children under the age of five are most vulnerable to such effects, since at this age the nervous system continues to actively form. In early childhood, neural connections responsible for attention, memory, speech, emotional regulation, and social skills develop.

Excessive screen time can negatively affect speech development, learning ability, and emotion control. In addition, the child may become more impulsive, irritable, and have a worse tolerance for stressful situations.

Among the alarming symptoms, the doctor named frequent blinking, twitching, grimacing, obsessive movements, sleep disorders, problems with concentration, as well as delayed speech development.

"You should immediately consult a neurologist if you experience: seizures or repetitive muscle twitching, persistent tics that do not go away for several weeks, pronounced sleep disorders that affect daytime well-being, sudden changes in behavior (for example, sudden aggression or apathy) that are not related to obvious causes, developmental delays (for example lack of speech at the appropriate age)," Makarov emphasized.

The expert noted that many of the effects of digital overload are reversible if screen time is limited in a timely manner. Physical activity, live communication, reading and educational activities help recovery. However, with prolonged exposure to gadgets, some disorders can persist for years and require the help of a neurologist, neuropsychologist, or speech therapist.

Timur Mutaliev, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Atlas Clinics, said on April 13 that prescribing antidepressants to children is possible if the symptoms of the disorder are expressed in such a way that psychotherapy does not work independently. Mutaliev also added that drugs are not prescribed at the first opportunity. If the problem is not critical, the first and main method of treatment should be to work with a psychologist or psychotherapist.