Now that my daughter is six-years-old, I get a lot of advice (as always) from people on how a girl of her age should be doing.
One such habit of hers that is always under discussion is that she still takes her afternoon nap, which is the reason why she does not sleep early in the night. Many have told me that kids should stop taking their afternoon nap once they’re three years old as they don’t need it ever.
However, on the contrary, I feel that kids really need to rest it out especially when they’re waking up at 6 every morning to get ready for school and after that, they slog it out for the next 8-9 hours. By the time they’re home, they’re so exhausted that a short nap in the afternoon would only help them beat the stress and refresh them.
And I am so glad that I felt that way because a new research from the University of Birmingham has found that Chinese children who sleep late in the night and less than their counterparts are more likely to be overweight.
How a lack of sleep leads to weight gain
Sleep promotes healthy weight gain in your child
Researchers studied the sleeping habits of 2, 795 youngsters int he age group of 9-12 from Guanghzhou, China and indicated a link between the sleep duration and the body fat.
- The scientists found that Chinese kids were sleeping less than the kids from the United States and Europe who were doing the same kind of studies.
- This meant that Chinese kids were paying more attention to studying and academics which was the reason why they were not able to get enough sleep.
- Researchers also found that sleeping late was increasing their risk of obesity, even though they were sleeping quite well during the night.
- It also found that kids sleeping longer have lower BMI than those sleeping less. For every hour later that a child goes to bed, their BMI score increases by a small amount.
Why your child needs to sleep more
Three other reasons why your child is sleeping more:
1.Increases attention span: Lack of sleep increases hyperactivity and distractibility, which in turn lead to concentration issues in your child. A well-slept child would be calmer and attentive, say studies.
2.Encourages growth and learning: Studies indicate that sleep encourages the brain to consolidate memories and help kids remember things. This also stops them from making silly mistakes and improves problem-solving skills.
3. Keeps them in a better mood: It goes without saying that kids that are sleep-deprived are crankier and irritable.
Republished with permission from: theIndusParent
Also read: 7 Healthy foods to help your child gain weight