7 Missed Golden Opportunities Due to Your Little One's Lack of Sleep

Who's child often sleeps late during quarantine at home? Not a few families have complained about their schedule getting messy during this #stayhome recommendation. How not, working, nurturing, being a teacher, and taking care of the house are done at the same time inevitably having to sacrifice one or several activities to make it run more late.

It's not that you're undisciplined, but you can't really divide your physical body any further. You only have two hands! You are not an octopus! As a result, the child's bedtime is often too late.

But, Ma, you need to pay attention so you don't sacrifice your little one's sleep. Because, various studies show that adequate sleep is very important for children's physical, cognitive, and holistic health.

What are some golden opportunities that can be missed if your little one is sleep deprived?

1. Smarter

During sleep, the body provides an opportunity for the brain to store what the little one had learned into a memory bank. Reut Gruber, Ph.D., psychologist and director of attention behavior in the Sleep Lab at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada, explains that during sleep, your little one's brain undergoes a process of sorting information in which it stores what's important to it and eliminates it. which he doesn't need.

So, according to Gruber, sleeping after studying is a golden opportunity that should not be missed. From the results of his study of children aged 7-11 years, deep sleep was associated with higher scores in math and language.

2. Grow Tall

Ken Noonan, M.D., a pediatric orthopedist in Wisconsin, USA, says that bones do most of their growth at night. The reason is that at night where they lie down, their feet are no longer under the pressure of their body weight. Between 11.00 pm and 02.00 am is also the time when growth hormone is released.

3. Improve Bonds with Family and Friends

How could that be? Does this apply to those who sleep together? Not. In sleep, children can dream, and according to Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, USA, dreams in children promote attachment. "Kids naturally dream about their family members, and we think those dreams facilitate positive emotional interactions when they wake up."

4. Eat More Regularly

A regular sleep schedule certainly contributes to a regular eating schedule. Because, the children will wake up on time and don't oversleep for breakfast, and so on at the next meal. In addition, Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, nutritionist author of Body Kindness, says that getting enough sleep can balance the hormone ghrelin which signals us to eat and leptim which signals to stop so that it can provide normal appetite regulation in the morning until noon. .

5. Focus Ability

Lisa Medalie, Psy.D., director of the Pediatric Insomnia Program at The University of Chicago, USA, says, "Poor sleep quality and lack of sleep lead to concentration problems and hyperactivity."

6. Healthy Heart

Adequate sleep can protect children from potential high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and the risk of heart disease.

7. Not Easy to Get Sick

At night, your little one's brain also releases chemicals that contribute to immune system repair. Shorter sleep is also associated with higher cortisol levels as well as the release of stress hormones that reduce immune system activation. Therefore, getting enough sleep is also very important during this pandemic.

To help your little one get to bed on time during quarantine, make sure his routine doesn't change too much. Avoid giving children screen time one hour before bedtime so that their eyes are not constantly active.