Kids: Sleep Goes Down, Weight Goes Up

The evidence just keeps coming: sleep plays a critical role in helping children maintain a healthy weight, and protecting them from the health risks associated with being overweight and obese.

The results of a recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association indicate that every additional hour of sleep young children receive can reduce their risk of being overweight.

Researchers in New Zealand studied the sleep habits and weight changes of 244 children between the ages of 3-7. To investigate the relationship between sleep and weight, they measured the children's height, weight, BMI and body composition. They also tracked children's sleep, physical activity, and diet at ages 3, 4, and 5. What did they find?

• Kids who slept more between the ages of 3-5 had lower BMI at age 7 than their shorter-sleeping counterparts
• Kids who slept more at 3-5 were also less likely to be overweight at age 7 than their peers who slept less
• Because the researchers measured body composition (the body's proportions of muscle, fat and bone mass), they were able to determine that the lower BMI was due to less fat, not to an increase in muscle and bone mass.

This latest study joins a large and growing body of evidence that sleep has a significant impact on children's weight. Children who are sleep deprived are at greater risk for weight problems. The risk starts early, and can extend into adulthood. Recent research into the sleep-weight connection has shown:

• Babies and toddlers who slept fewer than 12 hours per night had a greater risk of being overweight by the time they reached pre-school.
• Teens who sleep less are more likely to reach for high-calorie snacks, to consume more total calories, and to get more of their calories from fat than teens who sleep more.
• We know that poor sleep habits during childhood increase the risk of being overweight in adulthood.

Helping children develop strong sleep habits is an important investment in their long-term health -- and as this new study and others indicate, you can't start too soon. But how much sleep is enough?

Researchers in the current study reported that the children in their study slept 11 hours per night, on average. For children this young, this just isn't enough. Kids need more sleep than adults -- and not just very young children. Through adolescence, children require additional sleep. Here's a quick rundown on children's sleep needs, and tips for parents to help their children develop strong sleep habits:

Newborns

New babies will sleep 11 to 18 hours day, but any new parent knows, there's no predicting exactly when this sleeping will take place!

• Stimulate your newborn with light and noise during the day, and create a quieter environment at night. This will help strengthen their developing internal clock.
• Get enough sleep yourselves! Parents of newborns are notoriously sleep deprived -- especially moms -- and lack of sleep can have consequences for both parent and child.

Infants up to one year old need 9-12 hours of sleep per night, as well as naps during the day.

• Put your infant to bed when she's sleepy, not exhausted or already asleep. This will help strengthen your baby's self-soothing skills, and help her develop her independence at bedtime.

Toddlers

• Children 1-3 years old need 12-14 hours of sleep per night. They'll continue to need a nap during the day.
• Create a bedtime routine. Kids will benefit from the consistency of a regular bedtime, and a period of winding down before bed. A consistent sleep routine will continue to matter as your child ages. It's important for us adults, too!

Pre-schoolers

Children 3-5 need 11-13 hours per night. Their nighttime sleep is even more important now, since regular naps are often a thing of the past.

• Turn off the television. There's evidence that TV before bedtime disrupts children's sleep -- especially when it's violent.

School-age

Children 5-12 need 10-11 hours of sleep per night. By this time, kids are getting busy -- with school, sports, and social schedules. Their sleep is critical.

• Be consistent. Don't let busy schedules and extended playtime encroach on bedtime. Same time, same bed, every night. Keep bedrooms free of electronic media.
• Teenagers
• Adolescents/teens still need more sleep than adults, at least 9 ¼ hours per night. Teens can easily become sleep deprived, which can have serious consequences for their health.
• Talk with your teens about sleep. Work together to set limits and boundaries -- regular bedtimes, limits on electronic media -- that everyone can stick to.

Promoting strong sleep habits in your children is a process that starts early and really never stops. Your efforts can make all the difference in helping your child maintain a healthy weight and good overall heath over the length of their lives.

Sweet Dreams,
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight Through Better Sleep

Everything you do, you do better with a good night's sleep™
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Comments

[thechthonicblueberry]

09:56 AM on 10/01/2011

Babies and toddlers who slept fewer than 12 hours per night had a greater risk of being overweight by the time they reached pre-school.
overweight by pre-school? how does a child of 2 or 3 become overweight? how is that possible?

[Infostream]

02:59 PM on 09/25/2011

I think the real connection here is not some magical process in which sleeping more makes you burn more calories than being awake (although of course you can't consume calories when you;re asleep).

I think the real connection is the mentality of the parents. Parents who are aware, and take personal responsibility for their health/bodies are more likely to control diets and good sleep habits.

Parents who believe the current PC take - that obesity has nothing to do with personal responsibility but is caused by magical genetically engineered calories that cause fat to appear out of thin air - are more likely to let their kids eat too much and stay up late because self-discipline is just no fun.

[William Anderson LMHC]

10:15 AM on 09/25/2011

Great article! As a weight loss and mental health expert, I can attest to the overwhelming impact of good sleep hygiene or lack of it in all health-related spheres; mood, appetite and weight not the least of them.

I am currently working with pediatritian and childhood obesity expert Dr. Robert Pretlow on a new childhood obesity treatment program and we welcome your contribution here.

Please read my blog regarding childhood obesity and our community and school response to it, a subject dear to me, having grown up as an obese kid. http://theandersonmethod.com/what-should-the-schools-do-to-fight-the-childhood-obesity-epidemic/

Best wishes,

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com

[Mirriam Egglebrecht]

10:37 PM on 09/23/2011

Well duh. The more time you spend sleeping, the less time you spend eating.

[grn1]

01:30 PM on 09/24/2011

it is a little more complicated than that, i notice when kids get extremely tired they want to eat. like a refuel response to keep them going. most likely will whine for sweets at that point. i put them to bed and don't have to deal with insolent behavior.

[ursa32a]

04:15 AM on 09/25/2011

I'm not sure it's accurate to label a child's hunger as "insolent behavior"... I do agree with the idea about refueling response. I've made that remark about my own 10 p.m. stomach growl... our son is 9 and is encouraged to select a small snack (grain, fruit, protein) around 7 if he feels hungry. he does play soccer and baseball, and is 4'10" and 85 lbs...

[Wendy Davis]

03:40 PM on 09/23/2011

America's children are under so much stress and have been for a decade or longer. With both parents required to work to meet the bills and live a decent life, the time available to spend with their kids is limited. That safe feeling you have when you are with your parents is rare when you are in daycare or school or the babysitters all of the time while mom and dad work. This requires kids to need to be more alert than is typical for a child, and that causes stress. Activities designed to introduce them to new hobbies or interests cut into the time when there should be relaxation. We have been taught to always be doing something, it seems, games, computers, organized activities - things which have a scale which determines how we measure up to others - scored appropriately - and telling us where we fall in the "best to worst" category - all before we reach high school. The tension in the air created by the government and financial sector has added a whole new gray cloud over all of our heads - and the partisan bickering and finger pointing has created a icy-ness when relating to one another - Whether it is short and curt reports, bad tempers, a snapiness or a disgruntled response - every interaction is on the tip of an argument. We are failing the children. We have allowed uncommon ground to dictate who we are - rather than the common ground - which is the children. What is life but to live to give the children a safe and happy environment? What more is there to live for but the children? We have gone off the path we were designed to be in, and it will give us, in the end - a generation of children who have no sympathy for us when we are old, and no sympathy for the children when they are the adults running the show. Yes, this will backfire on all of us. The common ground for all human beings has always been and will always be the children; the children unite us and make our other differences unimportant - Where has this gone? Have the politicians and the media purposely turned us against one another? Why is there so much hostility between Americans? Finding a way to end this constant debate about every issue in the world is of the utmost importance - For the children, we need to get along; peaceful safe atmosphere for the children is part of the nurturing process.

[ThatsTheTheWayItIs]

10:28 AM on 09/24/2011

I was born in 1950, youngest of three kids. My mother went to work on the night shift, father was a milkman. We never in our lives had day-care or even baby-sitters. My parents worked that way until I was about 8, then we were "latch-key kids". BTW I was a National Merit Scholar, brother and sister equally smart, because intelligence is 70% nature not nurture, according to research.

I disagree, people today are richer, kids have it better. School was harder then, much more pressure. True more mothers work now, but they have more support than my parents did. A recent book talks about how siblings are more important than parents. Maybe the problem is we have smaller families, have 40% of births out of wedlock and the high divorce rate. The old-style family is gone.

[thechthonicblueberry]

03:23 PM on 10/01/2011

stress isn't an excuse for being overweight... especially if you're stressed and deal with it by eating, that's a very bad habit and probably difficult to break, but it obviously can be broken... if you're stressed constantly then you should be even more careful about not getting overweight, because it will just compound your health problems.