How Can Children Sleep So Much?

Age-appropriate recommendations

When you talk about children getting sleepy, you are always curious about the right amount of time they should sleep each night. Although medical science has advanced to levels beyond, the question about the sleep time of children is yet not answered. Some doctors and psychiatrists try to calm down the parents by saying that there are age-appropriate limits to one’s sleep time. Like many parents, you may not believe this to be true.

For instance, one doctor may say that a child less than 10 years of age should get at least 12 hours of sleep. Well, what if he doesn’t? Some of the infants sleep for more than that. That didn’t mean they will grow up to become lazy or unhealthy. Some doctors also say that younger children, probably teenagers, should not get more than 9 hours of sleep. Some teenagers doze off any and every time they feel sleepy.

Are they going to gain weight?

Here is something very interesting about the amount of sleep people get. It is possible that too much sleep increases the chances of gaining weight. We can’t stop sleeping in fear of gaining a little weight, now can we? But when you look at your surroundings, you’ may see that there are a couple of people, especially children, who doze off a lot and are obese. Whatever the issue, too much sleep is never advisable for children of any age.

Do they need help?

Psychiatrists did a long study of the ratio of children who sleep a lot. These are children who sleep in the car, on the sofa, or even in front of the television! They suggest that children who sleep a lot might have the feeling of negligence from their parents or family members. Some also suggest that children who sleep a lot are very inexpressive. But the question remains, why do they sleep so much?

There are doctors and psychiatrists who are working on finding the answer to this question but no facts about it are discovered. Children bored or unsatisfied from their lives are more likely to sleep a lot. But then there are children around us who just can’t help sleeping. They aren’t lonely or anything, they just love getting cozy in their beds and dozing off to the world of the dreams. Now dreams are again another factor why children sleep a lot. The child might not be happy about reality and they might love dreamland. Some children who are born fat or not as good looking as their friends are often in complexes and love to sleep. Some children might not be rich and might not get enough toys or chocolates to eat, that’s why they might love to go to their fantasy dream lands where they get everything they want.

Such children are advised to have therapy with psychiatrists in order to face the reality and make it better rather than just avoiding it.

Still confusing!

There may be children who sleep a lot and need help. There are others that simply fall asleep even when there are noises and activity around them. Even with music and people around them, they may be able to easily fall asleep. So that’s the problem. We still haven’t reached the conclusion as to why children sleep so much. But if they turn out healthy and active, do you really need to get them into therapy?