Sleep is important for your kids- and not just to make sure mommy and daddy get a little alone time. Sleep isn’t just to keep your kids from being tired and cranky, its the time when your child’s mind and body grow. Children should receive 7-9 hours of sleep every night in order to ensure they are reaping all the benefits of their sleep, but often with busy schedules and bedtime wars, children receive significantly less than that. This results in many internal effects you may not be aware of.
Lack of sleep can cause:
To get the best sleep, your child should avoid caffeine (soda and chocolate especially) and physical activity 4 hours before bed. A bed time is very important in order to set a sleep schedule- that way the body gets used to the schedule and gets an internal signal that its time to slow down for sleep. If your child cannot get enough sleep at night, naps are better than nothing- but the deep, uninterrupted sleep achieved at night is when most of the above processes happen, so do your best to ensure your child receives their 8 hours of ZZZ’s.
