Experts have always said kids don’t get enough sleep- even as far back as a century ago.
A team of experts has explored the common belief that kids just don’t get enough sleep, and that the length of time spent sleeping is declining, according to the journal Pediatrics.
The experts studied research conducted over a period of a hundred years and found that the recommended duration of sleep for kids has always been at least half an hour longer than what is achieved.
The problem, it seems, is that there have been disagreements about just how much sleep kids need, as recommendations have been based on measurements which left out one crucial detail: How long children sleep.
According to Reuters:
“Today, the National Institutes of Health says adults commonly need between eight and eight and a half hours of sleep, whereas newborns should get 16 to 18 hours a day. Children fall in between, with preschoolers needing 11 to 12 hours of slumber and older kids and adolescents 10 hours.”
Sleep-deficiency has been linked to everything from childhood obesity to heart disease.
How do you know if your child is sleeping enough? Well, if you have to wake your child up, then it’s possible that he may need to go to sleep earlier. According to the study, kids are still getting 37 minutes less than necessary.
Of course, if you’re a parent, you’ll agree that parents never get enough sleep, but that humans can get by with a few minutes snuggling into a spit-up cloth between breast feeding and nappy-changing stints.
Why not tell us about your child’s sleep habits in the comments section below?
Do you think your child gets enough sleep?
By: Scott Dunlop