What is the secret to good health ? The immediate response to this question is good Nutrition and ample physical exercise. However, the most important and often neglected aspect is good sleep. The three pillars of good health proven time and again include – Nutrition, Exercise and Sleep.
While scientists across the world continue to unravel something new in the field of sleep everyday, one fact remains unchanged – the benefits of sleep. We all have heard about grandma’s advice of yesteryears which suggests that sleeping well leads to a healthy life. Today’s research supports this too. The key to a healthy life lies in sleeping well.
You will be surprised to learn that adults spend almost 1/3rd of the day sleeping. This is almost 1/3rd of our life. Children on the other hand, can sleep for more than half the day. There is a direct relation between wake time and sleep time. What happens during this 1/3rd of life directly impacts what happens during the other 2/3rd. Hence, there is no doubt that ‘Sleep is absolutely vital’, more so in children!
How much sleep does a child need?
The amount of sleep that a child needs varies with age. It progressively decreases in duration as the child grows older.
The National Sleep Foundation Pediatric Task Force has released the general guidelines on sleep duration recommendations. The recommended duration is the total duration inclusive of both daytime naps and night sleep.
As per the recommendations –
- The duration of sleep in a newborn should range from 14 to 17 hours
- For an infant in the age group of 4 to 11 months it should range from 12 to 15 hours.
- For a toddler in the age group of 1 to 3 years it should range from 11 to 14 hours.
- For a pre-school going child in the age group of 3 to 6 years it should range from 9 to 12 hours.
- For a school going child in the age group of 6 to 12 years it should range from 10 to 11 hours.
- And finally for a teenager it should range from 8 to 10 hours.
Health Benefits of Sleep in Children
Sleep has both short term and long term benefits and is as important as nutrition. Therefore, Parents need to take the aspect of sleep seriously.
Sleep promotes Growth
One of the key parameters that we observe during our routine examination with children is their growth and development. Although growth and development is critical during all stages of a child, it is even more critical during the first two years as the child gains maximum in both weight and height during this stage.
One of the most important hormone responsible for growth in children is called the ‘Growth Hormone’. This principal hormone is secreted from the pituitary gland in the brain. Growth hormone not only helps in increasing both height and weight but also helps muscle and bone development, regulate body composition and sugar and fat metabolism. Parents are often stunned when I tell them that sleep is responsible for the adequate secretion of the Growth Hormone.
Studies show that good sleep is a stimulus towards the release of growth hormone and children with poor sleep tend to secrete less amounts of growth hormone. Hence, sleep is not a passive process but an ACTIVE ONE. A child is not only resting during sleep but also GROWING! This is why children sleep longer than adults. An infant who requires the maximum growth sleeps for the longest duration.
Sleep helps in Learning, Memory and Attention
Although a child looks peaceful while sleeping, the child’s brain actually remains busy all night. During this important period of sleep, a child’s brain actively creates neuronal connections and consolidates everything learnt during the day. Additionally, the child’s brain creates memory to store all the information. Hence good consolidated sleep is absolutely necessary for a child.
Another important aspect related to sleep is attention. This particular aspect is the topic of a lot of latest research on sleep in children. This is primarily because of the rise in the cases of attention deficit and hyperactivity, a condition commonly known as ADHD. Children who consistently sleep less than ten hours at night before the age of 3 years are three times more likely to become hyperactive and develop impulsivity problems by the age of 6 years.
Unlike Adults, sleep deprived children do not appear groggy and sleep excessively during the day but tend to become hyperactive. Although sleep deprivation does not always lead to ADHD, there is enough evidence to suggest that sleep deprived children tend to be impulsive, distracted and hyperactive.
Sleep regulates Body Weight
Research shows that sleep deprived children tend to put on on excessive weight. So what is the scientific explanation for this phenomenon? The fat cells secrete a hormone called Leptin after sufficient food intake. This hormone creates a feeling of fullness and signals the mind to stop eating further thereby helps to keep the weight in control.
There is enough evidence to suggest that sleep deprivation may impact secretion of the hormone Leptin and cause children to eat excessively and gain weight. Over time, children who don’t get good consolidated sleep are more likely to become obese.
The relation between lack of sleep and obesity was further substantiated by observing children who suffer from OSA or Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA is a condition which causes significant sleep disturbance in children and difficulty in breathing at night. Children with OSA are found to gain weight very rapidly, disproportionate to the amount of food they consume.
An important and significant observation is that sometimes obesity in children can lead to OSA thereby resulting in sleep problems. This creates a dreadful cycle as OSA then further leads to rapid weight gain.
Hence, Parents should ensure that their child gets good consolidated sleep to maintain age appropriate weight and avoid problems associated with obesity.
Sleep Keeps Diseases Away
It may sound far fetched when I tell you that good sleep can prevent certain diseases but today’s scientific research is beginning to support this. Experts are continuously studying on how sleep protects children from vascular damage which happens due to release of stress hormones and cholesterol.
Children with disturbed sleep pattern wake up multiple times at night. During these night awakenings and arousals, a number of stress hormones are released in the body such as cortisol and adrenaline. Repeated release of these hormones can damage the blood vessels. Furthermore , chronic diseases such as hypertension and heart disease in adults can be traced back to lack of adequate quality sleep as children. Additionally, studies on children with sleep issues have shown that their blood glucose and cortisol levels remain elevated through the night. Both of these are linked to higher chances of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and even heart disease.
That is not all, sleep deprived children can be more prone to infections.
During sleep, certain chemicals known as cytokines are produced. These are the chemicals on which the body relies to fight infection, illness, and stress. Sleep deprivation has shown to reduce the number of cytokines produced hence making children more at risk of infections. The same applies to adults also, It has been found that adults who sleep less than seven hours per night are three times more likely to develop a cold when exposed to a virus than adults who sleep eight or more hours.
Hence, it is important for parents to start talking about how well or not their child sleeps.