| The researchers studied 74 children aged between six
and 12 who normally watched television for an average of three hours
a day. In the week preceding the experiment they were encouraged to
do so a bit more. They were then deprived of TV, computers and video
games for seven days. In addition, their families were asked to use
less artificial light. At the end of the period the children's melatonin
levels had risen by an average of 30 per cent. The increases were
particularly marked in the youngest children.
A research team member is quoted in reports as saying, "In
our study television does not feature, as it does in other scientific
studies, as a source of strong emotions, capable of unleashing emotive
reactions that contribute to development. For us, it is just a source
of light and radiation."
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