The amount of sleep children get has a direct impact on their health. If they are sleep deprived, that is, they sleep less than 7 hours a night, children are more prone to anxiety, depression, impulsivity and poor cognitive performance.
Sleep allows the reorganization of brain circuits. It is therefore essential to sleep well, especially in children whose brains are developing rapidly. Researchers from the University of Warwick revealed, in a study published in the journal Nature, that sleep disturbances affect a child’s mental health.
Sleep between 9 and 11 hours per night
Sleep well to be healthy. Here are the conclusions of this study which reveals that children who have insufficient sleep are more prone to be depressed, anxious, impulsive and decrease their cognitive performance. “Our results show that children who sleep less than 7 hours per night are 53% more likely to develop behavior problems compared to those sleeping between 9 and 11 hours and the total cognitive score was 7.8% lower on average.analyzes Professor Jianfeng Feng who participated in the study. They highlight the importance of getting enough sleep for cognition and mental health in children“.
For their study, the researchers studied a database of 11,000 children between the ages of 9 and 11. They examined the relationship between sleep duration and brain structure and found that measures of depression, anxiety, impulsive behavior and poor cognitive performance were associated with shorter sleep duration.
Consequences a year later
The recommended amount of sleep for children ages 6 to 12 is 9 to 12 hours but “sleep disturbances are common among children and adolescents around the world due to the increasing demand for school time, increased use of screen time, and sports and social activities”note the researchers.
Problems related to sleep disorder last over time. Depressive problems were associated with short sleep duration one year later. The researchers state that “analysis of longitudinal data showed that psychiatric disorders, particularly depressive problems, were significantly associated with short sleep duration one year later”. They conclude, however, that to identify the underlying reasons for this sleep problem link further research is needed.
.
