Sleep is important for people of all ages, but especially for children. The brain recharges and stores memory during sleep, making it essential for children’s brain development. It also impacts mood, alertness, attention span, learning and memory. Adequate sleep is important in emotional regulation, judgment and decision making, problem solving and immune function.
Nicole Shields, MD, a family medicine physician with Claiborne Primary Care, says children who typically sleep for 10 hours or more each night have better socio-emotional behaviors, learning engagement and academic outcomes.
Missed hours of sleep can add up and have detrimental effects on children. Insufficient sleep often leads to behavioral problems and affects attention, memory and inhibition control.
Sleep deprivation may cause children to struggle with attentiveness, hyperactivity or disruptive behavior. These may sometimes be misdiagnosed as more severe mental or behavioral disorders. Studies have found that children who sleep less than the recommended nine hours were more likely to be depressed, anxious, stressed, aggressive and impulsive compared to those getting at least nine hours of sleep nightly.
Additionally, sleep deprivation affects growth and brain development. Brain imaging has shown that less-rested children have a smaller volume of gray matter in the areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory and inhibition control. This causes impaired cognitive functions like decision making, conflict solving and learning.
Sleep deprivation also affects the immune system. It reduces the ability to defend against viruses like colds and the flu. For adults, sleep deprivation can cause a higher risk of developing chronic conditions like cardiovascular problems, obesity and diabetes.
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