Sleep Deprivation In Children Rising

Screen time, academic pressure and parents’ late hours cited as chief causes by experts.

- Serena Josephine M.

“Let amma come,” was Pooja’s (name changed) constant reply to her grandmother. As a three­year­old child, she stayed awake till 11.30 p.m. every day for her mother to return home from work. Her dinner time was erratic, and sleep was inadequate. “Even if she was forced to go to bed before I returned from work, it was never a sound sleep. She used to wake up as soon as I reached. She woke up at 7 a.m. for school and the sleep was never enough. It left an impact on her appetite and she fell ill frequently,” her mother, Shyamala (name changed), said. When the situation became difficult to manage, Shyamala took a break from work, and later, switched to a job that enabled her to reach home and put her daughter to bed early.