The Effect of Minor Sleep Deprivation on Children

All parents desire their children to be healthy. To achieve this goal, they cook nutritious food for them and encourage physical activities and engaging content. While sleep is also a significant factor, occasionally missing half an hour of sleep may not seem like a big deal. However, recent research conducted in New Zealand challenges this notion and proves that losing up to 39 minutes of sleep, and even 30 minutes, can negatively impact children's academic performance and overall quality of life. This study implies that parents may need to be more vigilant about their children's bedtime routines. Let's explore the details of this research and other experts' opinions.

How lack of sleep affects children It's surprising to learn, but according to the study authors, science doesn't know much about sleep in healthy children. Their goal was to investigate this issue. The children who participated in the study also took part in another study that tracked their sleep and rest. In addition, they tracked their eating habits and activities. The same study continued over several weeks, changing their sleeping habits alternately, and lengthening sleeping hours or shortening them. Between each such occurrence, there was a week when the children slept as usual. 
 
A hundred children aged 8-12 participated in the study, none of whom had sleep problems in the past - a crucial fact. The researchers changed their sleep habits by delaying it by an hour (sleep restriction) or requiring them to go to bed an hour earlier (sleep extension). The children still woke up at the same time they were supposed to wake up every morning. The researchers then asked parents and children to evaluate the child's health and life with a questionnaire. 
 
The research community praised the study for demonstrating that even a slight reduction in sleeping time can negatively impact children's health and quality of life. This includes their ability to cope with the school environment. The study found that on average, a reduction of only 39 minutes had a harmful effect.

Why are these findings so important? 
Dr. Azizi Sykes, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at the University of Miami, emphasizes the importance of parents taking sleep seriously, as it can affect various aspects of their children's lives, including food choices, exercise motivation, and social skills

Other experts draw attention to the fact that this study was done with the participation of children who did not suffer from sleep disorders in the past. In contrast, past studies were done on children who did. Therefore, this new study proves that there is a connection between sleep restriction and health problems in a child's life. In addition, there are problems related to his ability to complete school assignments, at least according to what was reported to the researcher.

How to help children get enough sleep  
Dr. Sykes suggests giving sleep a high priority, even for adults. This means that each family member should maintain sleep hygiene, and according to him, the biggest challenge is disconnecting from electronic devices. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the "main enemy" preventing us from sleeping is the blue light emitted by the screens of those devices (smartphones, televisions, computers). This light sends a signal to the brain to wake up, which makes it difficult to fall asleep after exposure. 
 
According to Sykes, it is crucial for parents to establish a consistent sleep routine for their children to promote healthy physical and mental development through adequate sleep. This routine should be maintained throughout the year, regardless of events or changes. By doing so, children can sleep better and for a sufficient amount of time which benefits them. Sykes also emphasizes that there is no way to make up for lost sleep, and insufficient or poor-quality sleep can have negative effects that cannot be reversed. He refers to this as "sleep bankruptcy," and once sleep is lost, the negative impact is irreversible.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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