Everyone understands the importance of sleep. But when it comes to kids, well things get a little more complicated.
Children and adults are nothing alike. An adult is a fully grown person with a fully grown brain. Children are nothing alike, so anything that happens to them can be potentially harmful.
And when it comes to sleep, we’ll children need more of it.
But there are other reasons why sleep is important for children. We are going to take a look at those reasons in this article.
Contents
1. Sleep Is Essential For Growth
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The first and most important reason why children need sleep is that it’s essential for growth. While a baby will not grow overnight, what it will do is obtain a growth hormone during sleep.
While in deep sleep, babies and children grow because of this hormone. This is why babies spend the vast majority of their time doing exactly that.
It is estimated that babies under 12 months spend as much as 16 hours a day sleeping. And every hour counts for the growth of the baby.
If babies and children are deprived of sleep, then that could cause severe growth obstacles.
2. It Cures the Heart
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Much can be said about the benefits that come with sleeping. And the latest study shows that sleep is very beneficial for a child’s heart. Vascular diseases, damages, and ailments are not exclusive to adults and elderly people. Kids are just as prone to heart diseases as anyone else.
From stress hormones to cholesterol, children can suffer from it all. But experts suggest that sleeping helps regulate these diseases and hormones. When children sleep, their blood glucose levels are regulated thus making them prone to diseases such as diabetes and various other heart ailments.
3. It Prevents Children From Getting Overweight
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Yet another benefit that comes from getting the most possible snooze time as a kid is the fact that it prevents you from getting overweight. While this doesn’t protect kids 100%, it still helps.
It is estimated that kids who sleep too little are severely prone to being overweight. And since a kid can do nothing about managing their weight, it can be very problematic.
While parents can help manage their kids’ weight gain, it actually puts the kids under a lot of stress and these techniques are oftentimes more harmful than beneficial.
The best thing a parent can do is to make sure that their kid gets enough to sleep every single night. While it depends on the age of the kid as to how much snooze time they should get, it’s best that you at least make sure you’re hitting the right numbers.
Let’s discuss that a bit.
- Kids under 12 months should get anything between 12 and 16 hours a day.
- Kids between 1 and 2 years require at least 11 hours and at most 14 hours.
- Kids between 3 and 5 years need anything between 10 and 13 hours a day.
- Kids between 6 to 12 years need at least 9 and at most 12 hours of sleep a day.
- While kids ages 13 to 18 need anything between 8 and 10 hours a day.
If you’re having a problem putting your kid to sleep, then there are a few things you can do.
For starters, pajamas are very important as it gives children a sense of security and comfort whenever going to bed. So it’s maybe time that you get your kid a new pair of jammies to help them go to bed easily. As always, you should put in the effort of finding them something nice and comforting to wear when going to bed. So, we suggest you head over to Awakind for more information.
4. It Helps Them Focus
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Most of these benefits are closely tied to the brain or the body. And like most of the benefits on this list, number 4 is no exception.
Whenever we, the adults, don’t get the sleep we need, we’re oftentimes tired, feel overworked, grumpy, and struggle focusing. The case is completely the same when it comes to our younglings.
It is estimated that a kid needs to focus throughout the day as this is vital information that will help shape them in the future. Kids need to watch things, gather information, and process them to grasp a greater understanding of things they come in contact with.
The more tired your kid is, the higher the chances of struggling to keep focus throughout the day. But there are also other negative sides to it. If a child isn’t focused, then their greater problem-solving skills will suffer. Creativity is also something that suffers at the hands of lack of sleep. So, making sure that your child gets the optimal hours of sleep a day will make sure they’re not only well-rested but creative and more focused.
How to Make Them Sleep More?
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Apart from getting those new pajamas that will encourage them to go to bed, other ways also exist.
· Set A Routine
With kids, it’s all about setting a routine that they will look forward to. And setting a bedtime routine is no different. You should be setting a bedtime routine the moment your child arrives at this world. While the first three months will be relatively easy work, you will need to pay more attention later on.
· Set the Scene
If your kid has a hard time going to bed, then maybe you should “help” them. For starters, you could take away their phone or any other screen before going to bed as it will have a positive impact. The more children are exposed to blue lights, the harder it will be to fall asleep.
One more thing you could do is keep the room temperature the same for around an hour before going to bed.
· Read A Bedtime Story
If all else fails, then the good ol’ bedtime story should do the trick. Children love stories and they love it when you read them one before going to bed. Once you’re all finished, expect your kid to be snoozing like a champ.
