Sleep & Eat

For the parents: Studies released this week show what has been touted for years (children need 10+ hours of sleep per night and toddlers and infants even more) for entirely new reasons: children who do NOT receive this amount per night are TWICE as likely to become overweight or obese, TWICE. They also found that nap time has no effect whatsoever on decreasing this likelihood. There is no substitute for the at-night sleep children need.

This could be for some of the same reasons that adults gain more weight when they do not sleep enough. Adults seem to produce improper amounts of the hormones they need, causing them to crave junk/snack food over healthy food. Lack of sleep actually changes your cravings. Another no-brainer? Lack of sleep at night contributes to lack of energy during the day. Adults and especially children are less likely to engage in physical activity which would keep them in shape when they don't have the energy for them.

NPR released data a few months ago on the need for teenagers to get at least 10 hours of sleep per night. Since most teens would have to be in bed by 8pm for this to happen, it's unlikely. The only solutions proferred were later school start times and sleeping in on weekends. I share this news because of how few adults are willing to try either solution. I, myself, do not ever recall being allowed to sleep past 9am on weekends until I left for college. Duke University made headlines when I was in school for eliminating classes that start before 9am in response to these studies.

The result of teens not getting enough sleep? Teens lose the ability to concentrate, learn and remember what they study, and this effect is cumulative and long term. So, scientific advice for children? Get them on a schedule. For teens? Continue the schedule when possible and let them sleep.