Skip navigation.
Home
Tue Feb 9 10:10:30 2010 | [Write for us] | [Subscribe to RSS] | [Advertise with us] [Editor's Blog]

Active kids sleep better and longer

<strong>New York, September 14 --</strong> Research has provided enough evidence that active children take less time to fall asleep at night than their sedentary counterparts do.

New York, September 14 -- Research has provided enough evidence that active children take less time to fall asleep at night than their sedentary counterparts do.

Researchers from the Monash University studied the sleeping patterns of over 500 children. They found that children who remained active throughout the day took an average of 26 minutes to fall asleep while others took an average of 45 minutes.

The study maintains that every inactive hour spent by the children during the day took them 3 minutes longer to sleep at night. Furthermore, it was also established that the active children sleep soundly for longer hours than the inactive children.

New York University Sleep Disorders Center director, Dr. David Rapoport said, “I see this as something which we were designed by nature to do. The purpose of sleep is to recover from activity, and what this is showing is that that link is quite tight in the child. If the child exercises, they need more sleep and they get it more easily.”

Short sleep bad for kids’ health
Experts believe that short sleep is linked to obesity, behavioral problems, and low grades in school. Lack of sleep can also lead to chronic illnesses in children and it could also impair a child’s immune system.

For this reason, the study stresses on the importance of physical activity for children.

Sedentary activities like watching television, playing games on computer disrupt the ability of a child to fall asleep. Since today’s child prefers spending a sedentary lifestyle, he is at the risk of not getting enough and proper sleep.

Parents are advised to encourage their children to be active- to run, swim, hit a tennis ball and indulge in activities which keep them moving. This way, the kids will remain healthier and sleep on time, ensuring an undisturbed night for all the family members.

According to the researchers, "As short sleep duration is associated with obesity and lower cognitive performance, community emphasis on the importance of promoting healthy sleep in children is vitally important."

"This study emphasizes the importance of physical activity for children, not only for fitness, cardiovascular health and weight control, but also for sleep," they added.

The study has been published in the Archives Disease in Childhood.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
 
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Glossary terms will be automatically marked with links to their descriptions. If there are certain phrases or sections of text that should be excluded from glossary marking and linking, use the special markup, [no-glossary] ... [/no-glossary]. Additionally, these HTML elements will not be scanned: a, abbr, acronym, code, pre.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
For daily updates in your mailbox Subscribe for free via email, or grab our feed.
 

Swine Flu Updates

ppl wearing swine flu masks.jpg

New Delhi, February 4 -- The lethal swine flu influenza shows no sign of abating as new cases of H1N1 related deaths and infections continue to surface every day. With five more lives being snuffed out Wednesday, the death toll in the nation has reached 1,243 so far.

User login

TheMedGuru on Facebook
 
I n   F o c u s
Dull, yellow or stained teeth are a common problem today. Get a sparkling set of white teeth with the help of these tips.
white-teeth.jpg

The major culprits behind dull and stained teeth are tobacco, coffee, cavities, aging, and drugs. While some of the causes of these stains are not in our control, others are.

    Is it H1N1 or just common cold? Here's a little guide for the needy.
    woman sneezing.jpg

    Common cold and seasonal flu are likely to follow the arrival of the winter season. And given that H1N1 strain is also here and even declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO), confusion as to what is it that they are up against abounds among the masses.

      Is there really a G spot? Want to know the truth? Just read on.
      G spot.jpg

      There are a number of different explanations about what the G-spot actually is. Practitioners of tantric sex have been talking about this 'sacred spot' for over 1,000 years.

        R E S O U R C E S I N D US T R Y   N E W S M Y   H E A L T H

        Glossary

        Events & Conferences

        Healthcare Classifieds

        Hospitals Directory

        Forums