Problem Behaviors Of The Tired Child
Problem Behaviors Of The Tired Child
Our ever changing world is altering how much sleep our kids our getting each night. Are kids today just worse behaved than several decades ago? Until recently, nobody even looked at the correlation between behavior and sleep. And the research shows today’s kids are not getting enough sleep and are paying the price with poor social skills, learning problems and hyperactive behaviors. More time and energy needs to go into saving our children from this new life-altering problem.
Good sleep is as important as daily exercise and proper nutrition. Sleep may be thought of as "nutrition for the brain" (Amschler & McKenzie, 2005). Kids zero to five spend half of their time sleeping in order to help brain development, so when they lack sleep it is not surprising that they have behavior problems (Hoban & Chervin, 2004). Most parents do not realize just how much sleep is necessary for a child. Stein, Janis, Obermeyer, Amrorin, & Benca
(2001) notes that less than half of parents in their study ever reported a problem to the pediatrician even when they were aware of it. Parents are also unaware that a child’s sleep needs change with development. In a twenty-four hour period, infants need between fourteen and sixteen hours of sleep, toddlers need thirteen hours of sleep, preschoolers need twelve hours, school-agers need ten and adolescents need nine and a half hours (Kurcinka, 2006). According to Kurcinka, these are just the national averages and kids may need even more sleep, especially those in colder climates (Webb, 2010). Healthy brain development depends on a good night’s sleep. Scientists think that an adequate amount of sleep allows the brain to renew itself and fix any wear and tear; sleep allows the brain to take information that was just learned and further process it. In children, growth hormones are released during the sleep process too (“Sleepdex-Resources for... [continues]
Problem Behaviors Of The Tired Child
Our ever changing world is altering how much sleep our kids our getting each night. Are kids today just worse behaved than several decades ago? Until recently, nobody even looked at the correlation between behavior and sleep. And the research shows today’s kids are not getting enough sleep and are paying the price with poor social skills, learning problems and hyperactive behaviors. More time and energy needs to go into saving our children from this new life-altering problem.
Good sleep is as important as daily exercise and proper nutrition. Sleep may be thought of as "nutrition for the brain" (Amschler & McKenzie, 2005). Kids zero to five spend half of their time sleeping in order to help brain development, so when they lack sleep it is not surprising that they have behavior problems (Hoban & Chervin, 2004). Most parents do not realize just how much sleep is necessary for a child. Stein, Janis, Obermeyer, Amrorin, & Benca
(2001) notes that less than half of parents in their study ever reported a problem to the pediatrician even when they were aware of it. Parents are also unaware that a child’s sleep needs change with development. In a twenty-four hour period, infants need between fourteen and sixteen hours of sleep, toddlers need thirteen hours of sleep, preschoolers need twelve hours, school-agers need ten and adolescents need nine and a half hours (Kurcinka, 2006). According to Kurcinka, these are just the national averages and kids may need even more sleep, especially those in colder climates (Webb, 2010). Healthy brain development depends on a good night’s sleep. Scientists think that an adequate amount of sleep allows the brain to renew itself and fix any wear and tear; sleep allows the brain to take information that was just learned and further process it. In children, growth hormones are released during the sleep process too (“Sleepdex-Resources for... [continues]
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