Five Essential Reasons to Keep Naptime in the - Southern Early ...

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Reasons for Naptime in Early Childhood Reason #1: Sleep Is Essential to Good Health Banning naptime for young children has been compared by a pediatric sleep expert to being as wise as taking vegetables out of children’s daily diets (Lamberg, 2004). Sleep affects every facet of human life. Sleeping benefits the body physically, psychologically, emotionally, and cognitively. Sleep provides the body with the time it needs to rest and to renew energy levels. Sleep helps maintain the body’s immune system, as revealed by the following findings: • Sleep-deprived children may be more susceptible to medical problems such as allergies and ear infections (Stein, Mendelsohn, Obermeyer, Amromin, & Benca, 2001). • Sleep loss may affect a child’s response to vaccinations. For example, sleep deprivation restricted the effectiveness of flu shots (Spiegel, Sheridan, & Van Cauter, 2002). • Children with sleep deficit also showed an increased prevalence of allergies (Stein et al., 2001). Deep sleep is also important for young children because the highest levels of growth hormones are released into the bloodstream during the first half of the night while sleeping. Short sleeping hours show a marked decrease in the secretion of these growth hormones (King & Price, 1983; Müller, Locatelli, & Cocchi, 1999; Sheen, Byrne, Plat, Leproult, & Cauter, 1996; Teel, 2006). The increase in childhood obesity is becoming a major public health Subjects & Predicates When children are forced to remain awake when they really need to nap, everything from motor skills and coordination to critical thinking and creativity suffers. Sleep deprivation can have significant short- and long-term consequences for young children—cognitively, physically, and socially. Collaborate With Parents to Improve Sleep Habits Mrs. Allison noticed that a couple of the children in her 4-year-old class were gaining weight, seemed to lack energy, and were sleepy during the day. Concerned that the children could be ill, she spoke with the parents to find out more about the children’s activities at home as well as their eating and sleeping habits. The children were sleeping less than 6 hours a night because they stayed up late watching TV. This explained the sleepiness, decrease in attentiveness and physical activity, and subsequent weight gain. Mrs. Allison explained to the families the strong correlation between obesity and short sleep patterns in children (Sekine et al., 2002). The parents shifted to an earlier bedtime, making a significant difference in the children’s behavior in school. In addition, Mrs. Allison added more minutes to these children’s naptime to make sure they were getting the required amount of sleep. As a result of these changes, the children’s physical activity began to increase and they began to lose some of their excess weight. concern for many families and medical professionals. Research is now beginning to show a link between sleep loss and obesity in children. • Inadequate sleep may cause children to overeat (Sekine et al., 2002). Lack of sleep may cause a change in hormone levels that control hunger (Spiegel, Tasali, Penev, & Van Cauter, 2004). This results in increased hunger 4 Volume 36, Number 3 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Fall 2008
and the desire for more calorie-laden foods. • With the increase in childhood obesity, more children are suffering from lack of sleep due to sleep apnea, a direct result of obesity. Children who experience sleep apnea are sleepy during the day because they have not had enough recuperative sleep, and as a result, their academic performance suffers (Gozel, 1998). • Sleep deprivation may also contribute to insulin resistance, which can trigger diabetes. A growing body of evidence suggests that sleep deprivation may be a risk factor for Type II diabetes (Hasler et al., 2004; Spiegel, Knutson, Leproult, Tasali, VanCauter, 2005). Sleep influences psychological and social/emotional wellbeing. Sleep-deprived children are also more accident prone because lack of sleep can adversely affect motor skills and decrease response or reaction time (Amschler & McKenzie, 2005). Consequently, children who do not get the required number of hours of sleep may also have an increased risk of injury (Owens et al., 2005; Valent, Brusaferro, & Baronne, 2001), such as more bicycle injuries and accidents on the playground. Children who displayed frequent tiredness were more likely to have a history of hospitalization (Stein et al., 2001). Nancy P. Alexander Sleep-deprived children are also more accident prone because lack of sleep can adversely affect motor skills and decrease response or reaction time. Consequently, children who do not get the required number of hours of sleep may also have an increased risk of injury. Reason #2: Sleep Is Essential for Psychological and Social/Emotional Wellbeing Getting sufficient sleep also influences psychological and social/emotional wellbeing. During sleep, people dream and process all of the events of daily life. Many young children experience sleep problems, and anecdotal evidence suggests a correlation between sleep deprivation and children’s mood and behaviors, such as the following. • Preschool children who did not get the required amount of Fall 2008 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 36, Number 3 5
Page 1: How is sleep related to children’
Page 5 and 6: • Learning requires the integrati
Page 7 and 8: Figure 1. Sample Sleep Behavior Que
Page 9 and 10: King, J.M., & Price, D.A. (1983). S

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