Why Children Need Their Sleep
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Sloths aren't the only creatures who need Sleep. Did you know that Sloths are sleeping over 80% of the time? When they aren’t sleeping, they move very, very slowly. Perhaps too much sleep has made them even sleepier. I wonder if a Mama Sloth worries about their babies going to bed too early. This is much different from human Mums that tend to worry that their kids don’t go to bed early enough.
If you are a kid, you need to get a proper amount of sleep, although surely not as many hours as a Snoozing Sloth Sleeps. Unlike adults, when kids don’t get enough sleep they get hyperactive, irritable and just plain cranky.
Sometimes the behaviour problems that get you in trouble are just the result of your body and brain trying to tell you they’re too tired. It would be nice if our brains were wired just to tell us to go to bed instead of telling us to “Go jump ON the bed.”
Next time your behaviour lands you in hot water with your parents, maybe you can blame it on “Sleep Deprivation”.
This might get you out of trouble just because your Mum and Dad will be impressed and shocked that you are using such an important sounding phrase.
Your brain needs enough sleep to experience what is called REM or the dreaming state. We go through several stages during normal sleep activity and this takes about 8-12 hours for most kids. Without these sleep stages you will still tired and out of sort when you get up.
Experts in child health and behaviour say that caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks) can cause us to lose nearly an hour of needed sleep every day. Televisions and mobile phones in the bedroom are also blamed for another 2-3 hours of lost sleep each week.
Some people believe that if you don’t get enough sleep on a particular day you can make it up the next, but this is not true. You might be sleepier the next day, but you cannot make up the missed sleep.
Too little sleep is responsible for us making silly mistakes. This could be the reason why you wrecked your bike. Our response time is much longer when our brains don't have enough sleep.
Sleep is essential for kids because your brain needs some down time to process the events of the day. Your brain is constantly working and never goes off duty, so when you sleep is the only time it can even slow down just a little.
Having proper sleep makes it easier for people to learn new material and it improves the ability to memorize facts.
Many of the children who do poorly in the classroom are shown to be getting far too little sleep.
Kids do not like to take naps but the average 5-year-old still needs 10-12 hours of sleep. Come to think about it maybe we do have more in common with the Sloths than we think.
Kids who are 9-12 function best with 9-10 hours of sleep each day.
Our brains benefit from sleep and so do our bones and muscles. Even our hearts are able to slow the work during these resting hours.
A comfortable bedroom is necessary for the best sleep because our body has to cool down a bit in order for the brain to prepare for sleep. Room temperature has a lot to do with how easy it is for us to drift off to dreamland. When the thermometer drops a little we are able to sleep a lot better. If the covers are too heavy or the night is too warm, it makes sleeping more difficult.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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