What if insomnia is hereditary? In any case, this is the hypothesis supported by researchers at the University of Warwick (in England): in a new study published in the specialized journal Sleep Medicine, British scientists explain that, if the mother suffers from insomnia, the The child has a high chance of having trouble sleeping.
To arrive at this (curious) conclusion, the researchers worked with a panel of 200 children aged 7 to 12 years: the sleep of these was analyzed during an entire night by electroencephalography (EEG) and their parents also Had to answer a few questions regarding the quality of their nights.
Verdict? The researchers discovered that children whose mothers suffered from insomnia (in France, around 16% of adults would be affected by this sleeping sickness, according to Public Health France) fell asleep later than the others, had periods of sleep. less important than average and had poorer quality sleep, with a deeper sleep phase that was shorter than average.
No link with father’s insomnia
Strangely, the researchers found that this link was only true between mother and child: the father’s insomnia, meanwhile, had no impact on the quality of the child’s sleep. “This discovery is important because it could allow better monitoring of children whose parents suffer from insomnia: they could benefit from preventive care”, explain the scientists.
In France, 17% of adults aged 25 to 45 are in sleep debt: they sleep on average 5.45 hours per night, against 7 hours for the national average. A lack of sleep which has major consequences for health: increase in “bad” cholesterol, weight gain, accelerated cellular aging, hypertension … Go hop, to bed!
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