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NURTURING 21st CENTURY CHILDRENhigh blood pressure, and are at higher risk of developing
hypertension.
Cognitive impairment.The development of cognitive
capabilities, knowledge retention and concentration is
adversely affected by inadequate slumber. Too many
parents push children into sacrificing sleep for tuition
and exams preparation. “Increasingly, success in school-
leaving board exams is becoming the passport to career
progression. Preparations for exams start at ever younger
ages these days, with children spending long hours in
tutorials, coaching centres and back-to-back classes. In
between, they also have homework to complete. Therefore,
anxious parents tend to reduce children’s sleeping hours.
This is dangerous as inadequate sleep results in bad health
and impairs rather than improves children’s academic
performance,” says Dr. Gita Mathai, a Vellore-based
paediatrician and columnist of ParentsWorld (see p.36).
Behavioural problems. Moreover, many parents fail to
discern the correlation between chronic sleep deprivation
in children and behavioural changes. A study conducted
in 2016 by the University of Houston, USA, indicates that
children who experience inadequate or disrupted sleep are
more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders
later in life. Dr. Ranjini Raghavan, sleep disorder specialist
at Sunrise Hospital, Kochi concurs. “The adverse effects of
sleep deprivation are hyperactivity, reduced concentration,
A
ccording to a study published in The Journal of
Global Health (July 2019) titled, ‘Sleeping patterns of
Indian children’, night sleep duration is the lowest
among Indian children compared to the 13 nations (the
US, UK, and China) studied. Moreover Indian children
go to bed comparatively late and consequently their sleep
inadequacy over the long term is severe.
The National Sleep Foundation, a US-based non-profit
committed to researching and promoting sleep health,
recommends the following sleep duration per 24-hour day
for different age groups:
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours of sleep
- Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours
- School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours
- Teens (14-17): 8-10 hours
- Young adults (18-25): 7-9 hours
How much sleep does a
CHILD NEED?
behavioural problems, anxiety, aggression and irritability. If
chronic sleep deprivation continues into adolescence, it can
lead to depression and obesity,” she warns.
Interestingly, other studies reveal that school-going
children from high-income households are at greater risk
of sleep deprivation. A study titled ‘Socio-Economic Status,
Time Spending, and Sleep Duration in Indian Children
and Adolescents’ published in the Journal of Child and FamilyDr. Gita Mathai