Sleep Deprived Children may Gain Weight
Jun 16, 2009
We all know how important sleep is for maintaining proper weight. Now the importance of sleep for the children is being established by the researchers at Montreal. The researchers at University of Montreal found that 26 out of 100 children with a daily sleep of less than 10 Hrs may become overweight by 6 years of age. The research that observed amongst children between 6 months to 6 years old established that around 90 % children suffer from some kind of sleep problem like bed-wetting, night terrors and teeth grinding.
While for around 70% of the children the problems get over with time, for the rest the problems continue and makes it difficult for them to have a sound sleep for long hours. The lack of sleep is known to affect the learning ability of the children but this research at Universite de Montreal focused on its correlation with the tendency of children to become overweight and hyperactive. The relationship between lack of sleep and the tendency to become overweight was attributed to the release of ‘appetite controlling hormones’ during sleep.
One of the researchers Dr Jacques Montplaisir, director of sleep disorder center at Sacre-Coeur Hospital said "When we sleep less, our stomach secretes more of the hormone that stimulates appetite," and adds "And we also produce less of the hormone whose function is to reduce the intake of food."
Dr Montplaisir also pointed out the fact that lack of sleep also results in hyperactivity among the children who slept less. The results of the research indicated that about 22 % of the kids who slept for less than 10 Hrs when they were 2 ½ years were found to be hyperactive at 6 years of age.
According to Montplaisir, "In adults, inadequate sleep translates into sleepiness, but in children it creates excitement."
This sleeplessness can effectively be handled and rectified early before it gets worse. All it needs is little bit of planning and inculcating the right mental attitude.
Posted by admin | Tags: Weight Loss - Children
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