5 Key Reasons Why Your Child Needs Sleep

Sleep for children is like food for the brain! This is not my personal opinion, but science proved so through different studies and research. It really breaks my heart when we give food and education such a big deal in life, but we still don’t look into sleep the same way. We take sleep for granted, it is just the way the day ends, we get tired and we sleep. But the fact is, a lot of things happen in the body when the body is sleeping properly. In this blog, we will dig a little bit deeper into this. 

But before I continue, I would like to clarify that it is ok for your newborn and young infant to wake up at night for feeds because the body needs this intake of nutrition at night. It’s fine that your child will wake up every now and then for certain needs or express some pain for example while teething for a few nights. But if the child is consistently having irregular fragmented sleep and always struggling to sleep during the day (naps) and night, then here comes the problem and this might affect the child in the short and long term. 

So why is sleep important? 

Here are the top reasons (sleep comes with many more benefits) 

• It Improves memory, learning & cognitive skills

Sleep is crucial for memory consolidation, during sleep the memory is transferred from the short-term memory to the long-term memory. When it comes to learning and cognitive skills, naps for children across different ages play a key role in the process of learning. Studies showed that when older children napped during the day they managed to score higher on tests. Not only naps are important, but the length of the nap matters as well. Another study showed how consistent short naps (30 minutes naps) affect the learning and cognitive skills of children.  

• It helps in boosting immunity

Lack of sleep affects the immune system, there are multiple studies that showed the relation between chronic sleep deprivation and the impact on the immune system. Weak immunity leads to higher chances of getting sick, and when the child is sick, there are more wakings or irregular sleep, and so on. So we continue to be in this vicious cycle of broken and low quality of sleep, and hence weak immunity. 

• It is a key component of physical growth and development 

Lack of proper sleep in the early years of life affects the physical development of the child because sleep regulates the release of some hormones in the body that affect the growth of the child, those hormones are only produced during sleep. Also, there is a relationship between lack of sleep in infants+older children and obesity. Obesity, on the other hand, increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

• Affects the emotional and social well-being of the child

Consistent insufficient sleep will result in a high level of cortisol, which affects the behavior and wellbeing of the child. Many studies across different age groups (infants, toddlers, pre-scholars) show how the lack of sleep results in more tantrums, hyperactivity, and other behavioral issues. 

• Helps in decreasing the risk of maternal depression

This one is not about the child, but about the KEY caregiver of the child: THE MOTHER! 

Sleep disruption affects the release of some hormones that affect the stress system and the circadian rhythm of the body. When children get healthy to sleep in early childhood (especially in the first year of life), this helps in decreasing the risk of maternal depression. 

If you are a sleep-deprived mother, I would love to help you get some sleep, book an assessment call to chat about it.

All information in this blog is based on scientific studies on PUBMED.GOVE and National Sleep Foundation