How bad sleeping habits can affect children
Good and adequate sleep is a great need for every child. As much as grown-ups do, small children, too, need to get enough sleep each day. During the early childhood stages, the body and the brain are very active and develop at a rapid rate; this is why there should always be a balance between recreational activities and rest to give the body all what it needs to develop. Adequate sleep dictates better health for every child while poor sleeping habits negatively affect a child’s overall wellbeing.
Getting inadequate sleep and rest will cause different effects on kids as listed below:
Stress and anxiety
A child deprived of enough sleep is likely to encounter problems of stress, depression and anxiety because they have not received the required amount of sleep. The levels of the cortisol stress hormone go up when there a child doesn’t get enough sleep. As a result, children start to appear nauseous, sad, afraid, stressed, and worried. Trouble then comes because sleeping well becomes a nightmare and more problems begin to pile up.
Poor concentration
Poor sleeping habits make kids appear tired and weary with a lot more drowsiness. If this is repeated day after day, the level of concentration is highly affected. You may be surprised to note poor performance at school and low attention in doing things. Because the mind is disturbed, literally every move that the child makes is likely to be disturbed. Forgetfulness and a lot of fussiness may too be a reality in such a child.
Physical development
Poor sleeping habits make children consume more or less of what their body needs which may then result in serious growth problems. Consuming more food, or the wrong types of food may lead to obesity which is deemed dangerous at early ages. A deficit of an hour of sleep may also cause low weight from poor eating habits. From sleep deprivation, the development of the body can be affected and the overall growth of the child.
Health disorders
Any reduced levels of sleep in a day is believed to cause increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, a status that predisposes to a child’s insulin resistance level bringing the risk of developing diabetes. When a child is obese, the risk of getting diabetes among other diseases is very high. The hyperactivity disorder is also associated with bad sleeping habits in young children.
Sources:
Only Half of U.S. Children Get Enough Sleep: Why That’s a Serious Problem
Lack of sleep may disrupt the development of a child’s brain