Get Your Child to Bed Every Day at the Same Time
By FamilyFirstNJA
Sleep is one of the most essential part of our body’s function. This is when our body and mind take the time to recharge. It is also the time that it uses to heal itself. If you don’t get enough sleep your brain cannot function properly.
A good night’s sleep boosts your immune system. When your body gets the sleep it needs, your immune cells and proteins get the rest they need to fight off whatever comes their way like cold or flu.
It prevents weight gain. It strengthens your heart. Just like your immune system, your heart needs rest in order to function powerfully and properly.
Better sleep equals better mood. If you sleep well, you wake up feeling rested. Being rested helps your energy level soar. When your energy level is up, life’s little challenges won’t annoy you so much. Sleep improves memory according to SCL Health.
During sleep your body works to repair muscles, organs, and other cells. Chemicals that strengthen your immune system start to circulate in your body.
Sleep promotes healing: your brain can now attend to other issues in the body. If there are areas that need to heal the brain can now trigger the release of hormones that encourage tissue growth to repair blood vessels. This helps wounds to heal faster and helps restore sore and damage – muscles. It makes more white blood cells that can attack viruses and bacteria that can hinder the healing process.
Sleep gives the body a break. Less pressure on your heart. Blood pressure drops. Your heart gets a break. Sleep releases hormones that can slow breathing and relax other muscles in the body. As well as this process can reduce inflammation and assist with healing.
Sleeps helps with positive attitude. When you are awake there are many demands on your body and your brain, these demands decrease dramatically when you go to sleep. Your body and mind can focus on restorative tasks and get a break. When you’re awake after a good night’s sleep, hormone levels, stress levels and energy levels have all been adjusted for a more positive start to the day.
Sleep produces an energy boost. The demand for calories is decreased so your body can replenish and be ready for action when you awake. (Chicago Tribune).
A study conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Bigham and Women’s Hospital suggests that consistent wake-up time with the same amount of sleep per night, led to more productivity in student’s lives.
Adults require at least seven to nine hours of sleep.
Teenagers and children require even more. According to (Sleep Foundation), an internal body clock regulates your sleep cycle, controlling when you feel tired and ready for bed or refreshed and alert. This clock operates on a twenty-four-hour cycle known as the Circadian Rhythm. After waking up from sleep you will become increasingly tired throughout the day. These feelings will peak in the evening leading up to bedtime.
On the other hand, lack of sleep causes high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Lack of sleep potentially can cause – obesity, depression, impairment in immunity and lower sex drive.
Chronic sleep deprivation can even affect your appearance. There is also a link between lack of sleep and an increase in the stress hormone cortisol in the body.
Cortisol can break down collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth. So, lack of sleep can mean more wrinkles. According to Harnet Walia M.D., “shortening yourself on shut-eye has a negative impact on your health in many ways. Short term problems such as lack of awareness. Excessive day-time sleepiness – tired and sleepy during the day. Impaired memory – affects your ability to think. Relationship stress – makes you moody, sparks conflict with others. Makes you less likely to participate in normal day to day activities or exercise. Greater likelihood of car accidents – driving drowsy.”
Insufficient sleep, in children causes decreased brain development. Learning problems and more negative emotions. Weight management problems. Growth issues and increased frequency of illnesses according to the Children’s Hospital of Colorado.
“Studies have shown that children who get an adequate amount of sleep have improved attention, behavior, learning, memory and overall mental and physical health.” Rachel Dawkins M.D.
What is the recommended amount of sleep a child should get?
It varies based on age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:
Infants under 1 year: 12-16 hours
Children 1-2 years old: 11-14 hours
Children 3-5 years old: 10-13 hours
Children 6-12 years old: 9-12 hours
Teenagers 13-18 years old: 8-10 hours
Establishing a consistent bedtime routine is important. The routine should ideally start at the same time every night.
Here are some tips to help get you started on a sleep routine for your child.
Have a regular schedule.
Set a time for bed and ensure that they stick to that time.
Turn off screens before bed.
Make sure televisions, tablets, computers and any device that will distract them are turned off.
Have an environment that encourages sleep.
Make sure things are quiet. Keep noise levels down after children have gone to bed. If children don’t like the dark ensure that the light is dim and not too bright to keep them awake.
Know how any other factors influence sleep.
Children’s bodies are just as susceptible to sickness, disease, tiredness, infections, and other issues just like ours. It is our duty to ensure that we do our best as parents to protect them as much as we can. Ensuring that they get adequate sleep by setting a schedule time for bed is very important. It will eventually become a routine that will also give you time to relax when they have gone to bed.
Works Cited.
Chicago Tribune. Four Ways that Sleep Helps the Body to Heal. (2018). https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/advertising/marketplace/ct-ss-suburbs-four-crucial-ways-that-sleep-helps-the-body-to-heal-20180112dto-story.html
Children’s Colorado Hospital Insufficient Sleep in Children. https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/conditions/sleep-deprivation/
Cleveland Clinic. Here is What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep (And How Much You Really Need a Night). (2020). https://health.clevelandclinic.org/happens-body-dont-get-enough-sleep/
Dawkins, Rachel, M.D. The Importance of Sleep for Kids. Johns Hopkins Medicine & Children’s Hospital. (2018). https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/ACH-News/General- News/The-importance-of-sleep-for-kids
McCarthy, Claire, M.D. How to Help Your Child Get the Sleep They Need. Harvard Health Publishing. Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-help-your-child-get-the-sleep-they-need-2020083120894
SCL Health. The Benefits of Getting a Good Night’s Sleep. Life, Body, Mind. https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2018/09/the-benefits-of-getting-a-full-night-sleep/
Sleep Foundation. Why Do We Need Sleep? (2020). https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/why-do-we-need-sleep
