You probably heard at least a sound bite earlier this week about the results from a study that links inadequate sleep in infants/toddlers/children etc with childhood obesity. This didn't come as a suprise to me whatsoever, but I was really happy to see the numbers. Having suffered from a variety of sleep disorders my entire life, I am really sensitive to the toll that inadequate sleep takes on a person - physically and emotionally.
It seems like americans are getting less and less sleep as time goes on. We live in such crazy times where multi-tasking, over-booking and over-scheduling are the norm. I remember going weeks with horribly disturbed sleep when the boys were infants and thinking "it is amazing a person can function on such little sleep." This doesn't mean we are functioning well, just means we are functioning.
Ofcourse just because we acknowledge that we (and the kids) need more sleep, doesn't mean the sleep fairies are gonna swoop down and make it a reality. I do, however, think that we need to at least acknowledge the fact that we need more sleep and do our best to make a plan that will help accomplish the goal of meeting our sleep requirements. Let me just say that I have found that the earlier the boys go to bed, the quicker they fall asleep and the later they sleep.
At any rate, I read a ton of articles summarizing the study's findings for you and I am giving you the link to what I thought was one of the better articles I read. I like that it outlines how many hours were considered "too little" and what the CDC recommends in terms of sleep by age categories.
http://parentingsquad.com/sleep-and-childhood-obesity
In (sleep) Health,
Yo
