Smart Sleep ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........Zema

Another one to share with you....

As little as one hour less sleep over a few nights can have significant negative effects on a child's ability to concentrate and learn.

Psychologists at Israel's TelAviv University ran some fascinating experiments with the sleeping patterns of nine to twelve year olds. For the first two nights the children slept according to their normal patterns, but for the next three days half of the group had one hour less sleep per night while the other half had one hour more sleep.

After as little as three days, significant differences were found in the children's reaction times and in their morning fatigue. The researchers concluded that even modest sleep deprivation can have negative effects on a child's ability to learn. Of great interest to me was the fact that the children who slept for an hour longer than their usual pattern not only did better than the sleep-deprived kids, but also improved on their own performance.

Now there's an argument I can present to my son tonight. Not only can't he stay up late, he actually has to start going to bed earlier!

There is no disputing that children today are sleeping less than children did a decade ago. Many are travelling further to school and schools are setting more homework. And in addition to the distraction of the TV, our kids now want to spend their evenings SMS-ing their friends, surfing the Net and downloading music.

Parents find out through raw experience that giving in to a child's demands to stay up late can result in a tired and angry child the next day. But this new research suggests the risks are much greater-that even slight sleep deprivation can lead to lower grades and unfulfilled academic potential.

So how much sleep do children of different ages need? Average needs can be summarised as they are in the following chart, but a far better method is to observe your own children.

Over a two-week period, keep track of the hours they sleep and note the differences in their behaviour, moods, health and wellbeing.

And remember, some children need significantly more sleep than is indicated in this chart.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DOES YOUR CHILD NEED?

1 year.........13-14 hours 2 years........13 hours 3-5 years......11-12 hours 6-9 years......10-11 hours 10-14 years....9-10 hours 15-16 years....81/2-9 hours.

WARNING SIGNS OF SLEEP-DEPRIVED CHILD:

Crankiness/bad moods Difficulty concentrating Temper tantrums Day-time sleepiness Irritability Easily frustrated Hyperactivity.

FOOTNOTE:

I think in reading this article, I have found that with Katrina my grandaughter who used to live with us, that she couldnt go to sleep early. She went to bed early enough, but couldnt sleep, I used to allow her to read to try to make her really tired and by the time she finally dropped off to sleep it would be such a deep sleep, that I couldnt get her out of bed in the mornings...and her grades at school, were suffering...whereas now she is with her father, she has to go to bed early and its lights out ...no reading allowed...and she has finally got herself into a good sleeping pattern and is doing excellent at her grades at school....so I think there is something to learn by, in this article...hope it can help someone out there....



Luv and Peace....Zema

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