It's common sense and everyone knows that children who run around and exercise more sleep better. However this has now been quantified.
Experts from Monash University in Melbourne and the University of Auckland looked at 519 seven-year-olds and found that for every hour they sit, they need three minutes longer to fall asleep.
Interestingly, it did not matter what the child did whilst they sat. TV was no more detrimental than reading a book quietly, although children who were very physically active during the day tended to take less time to fall asleep
Most of the children fell asleep within 45 minutes, and the average amount of time it took to fall asleep was 26 minutes.
Those who fell asleep faster also tended to sleep for longer.
This study emphasises yet again, the importance of physical activity for children, not only for sleep, but also for overall fitness, heart health and obesity control.
1 comment:
NImsy,
Glad I stumbled upon your site. Great stuff here. Common sense is a funny thing: it can be staring us in the face and we still might dismiss it (see all actions of teenagers, for example :) ). So the study sheds light on an important element in how we raise our children. It also likely debunks the myth of over-exercised, although the study does not seem to quantify whether there is an optimum amount of physical activity related to healthy sleep patterns.
Again, thanks for sharing, and I signed up to receive your blogs and am looking forward to them.
Kristen
www.smartdreamzzz.com
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