Sufficient sleep for children may lead to healthy BMI later
| Updated: Dec 9, 2018, 09:31 IST
Parents, if your children are having issues nodding off, this could be a cause for concern. Having a regular, age-appropriate bedtime and getting sufficient sleep from early childhood may be important for healthy body weight in adolescence, according to this study conducted by researchers at Penn State.
“We think sleep affects physical and mental health, and the ability to learn,” said Orfeu Buxton, Professor from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. “Parenting practices in childhood affect physical health and BMI in the teenage years. Developing a proper routine in childhood is crucial for the future health of the child,” Buxton added. Previous studies have proven that bad sleep habits in children can affect their academic performances and it could even contribute to death and cases of heart disease and stroke. However, the findings of this study that have been published in the journal, SLEEP claim that if proper bedtime schedules are not adhered to in childhood, children could have a distorted BMI in the later stages of their lives.
"Bedtime should provide enough of a ‘window’ for the child to get an appropriate amount of sleep, even if the child does not fall asleep right away," said Buxton.
“We think sleep affects physical and mental health, and the ability to learn,” said Orfeu Buxton, Professor from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. “Parenting practices in childhood affect physical health and BMI in the teenage years. Developing a proper routine in childhood is crucial for the future health of the child,” Buxton added. Previous studies have proven that bad sleep habits in children can affect their academic performances and it could even contribute to death and cases of heart disease and stroke. However, the findings of this study that have been published in the journal, SLEEP claim that if proper bedtime schedules are not adhered to in childhood, children could have a distorted BMI in the later stages of their lives.
"Bedtime should provide enough of a ‘window’ for the child to get an appropriate amount of sleep, even if the child does not fall asleep right away," said Buxton.