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Health

Watch TV before bedtime reduces sleep quality of children

07/22/2013

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.



 


A survey by the National Sleep Foundation in the United States found that excessive use of electronics before bedtime is reducing the quality and duration of sleep Americans.

Another study, published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, is a warning to parents: the longer the child watches TV at night, before bedtime, unless she sleeps.

To reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed the activities carried out by children 90 minutes before they lie down to sleep and how they influenced the sleep. The survey gathered data from more than 2,000 children and adolescents aged 5-24 years in New Zealand.

The goal was to see how children spent their time in the evening, including food, preparing to sleep, read or realization of homework, time watching television, playing video games, listening to music and doing other activities.
"Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed suppresses release of the hormone melatonin, which improves sleep, enhances alertness and shifts the rhythm of our circadian clock, making it harder to fall asleep" said Dr. Charles Czeisler, PhD of Harvard Medical School.

The researchers found that among all children in the sample, the activity that took more time at night is watch television before bed. "The screen time" varied between 30 and 90 minutes every night. As a result, the onset of sleep children who watched more TV may be delayed up to 13 minutes more than in the time of sleep onset that saw less TV.
 
"That is, the reduction of 'screen time' at night can help promote sleep onset earlier in children and adolescents, which is essential for proper development," says pediatrician Moises Chencinski. Remember that in childhood, about 90% of the growth hormone is released during sleep. Children who sleep poorly are more likely to have problems in their physical development.

For the neurologist Andre Felicio, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology and clinical fellow at the University of British Columbia in Canada, the negative point of view, large LCD or plasma TVs in our rooms, blue-ray machines, all those little green lights (LEDs) that show whether the appliances that we are connected or not, everything that can disrupt what we call "sleep hygiene". Thus, the individual is distracted, stay active, does not come into drowsiness or does not reach the first stages of sleep turns to and fro on the bed resulting in a lost night, but worse, a productive day lost.

Sleep and health in childhood
 
"A child who does not sleep right can have mood and appetite, inattention in school activities and everyday problems and growth," says the doctor. Researchers at Northwestern University (United States) revealed that an extra hour of sleep decreases the chances of being overweight by up to 36% in children 3-8 years.

The poor sleep or lack of it hinders the learning process. Tantrums, aggressive behavior, apathy in jokes and constant fights are some of the symptoms of lack of sleep.

According to recent research, children with sleep problems take worse grades in school and have more difficulty learning. Another study, Finnish, followed 280 children born in 1998 until they fulfilled: 8 years. It was proven that the behavioral problems resulting from sleepless nights are similar to those of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

It is during sleep that the child consolidates memory and fixed what they learned during the day. Sleep restores energy for the next day. In addition, the peak hormone GH (growth) are nocturnal. If there is a good sleep, can not be achieved the stature expected.
To ensure a good night's sleep of the child, it is necessary to review the habits of the whole family. A survey conducted at the State University of Pennsylvania, in the United States, shows that the emotional availability of mothers time to put their children to sleep was an important factor for them to fall asleep more easily at night and not wake up. "We understand how emotional availability the fact that parents pay attention and meet their children in a quiet, calm and promoting activities that involve some contact with them before bed," says pediatrician.

"That means, send impatiently, children going to bed can not bring good results. It is best to teach them early the correct time to sleep, and do them rest in your own room, alone ", says the doctor.

Then Moses Chencinski list some tips that can ensure a good night's sleep for children:

• Control fluid intake before the little lie down;
 
• Foods high in caffeine, like chocolate, black tea and mate tea, coffee and soft drinks should be avoided at night because they are stimulants;
 
• Instead of children bored with activities that require energy, encourage them to do something relaxing before bedtime, such as reading or listening to soothing music;
 
• Chamomile tea or a glass of warm milk can help small sleep better. Milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid that participates in the production of serotonin, which in turn regulates sleep and causes a feeling of well-being;
 
• Turn off the TV and computer at least an hour before bedtime pile up.
The light of such equipment prevents the brain understands that it's time to rest.


Source: UOL - Modern Consumer

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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

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