WHY SLEEP IS SO VITAL FOR CHILDREN

Studies have shown that when children routinely don’t get enough sleep, this will negatively impact many areas of their lives - including school performance and behaviour.

When children are not getting enough sleep you might notice the following changes in them:

• They are more clumsy and accident-prone

• They have slower reaction times

• They process what is being said to them more slowly

• They are less coordinated

• They are prone to getting sick more frequently

EFFECTS OF LACK OF SLEEP ON A CHILD

When a child is not getting enough sleep, their performance and achievement tends to decrease. Just to put it into context, studies have shown that a deficit of just one hour of sleep each night is equivalent to losing two years of cognitive maturation and development.

Lack of sleep also affects personal memory. One piece of research showed that tired children remember fewer positive events but more negative ones due to the effects on different areas of the brain. Not only this, lack of sleep in children negatively affects:

• Their interactions with others

• Their natural weight

• Their ability to focus

• Their emotional stability

• Their quality of sleep when they do go to bed

Lack of sleep affects children far more than adults because of the tremendous amount of development that occurs in their growing brains – all of which happens mainly during sleep.

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH SLEEP?

Toddlers: 11-12 hours

Babies between the ages of 21 to 36 months usually need one nap a day, which may range from one to three and a half hours long. As a natural routine, they typically go to bed between 7 - 9 pm and wake up between 6 - 8 am.

3 - 6 Years: 10 - 12 hours