What to do if your child doesn't get enough sleep? These four habits should be developed

Sleep is very important for children during their growth and development period, but many children have the habit of not liking to sleep at night. Some go to bed early but always feel restless, which makes parents very distressed. In fact, when facing the problem of children's lack of sleep, the situation will improve a lot as long as they develop the following four habits.

1. Let your child go to bed early

In addition to genetics, nutrition, and physical exercise, children's height is also closely related to the secretion of growth hormone. Growth hormone is a protein secreted by the human hypothalamus that promotes the growth and development of bones, muscles, connective tissue and internal organs. Too little secretion of growth hormone will inevitably lead to short stature. The secretion of growth hormone has its specific rhythm, that is, growth hormone can only be produced after a person falls asleep, and it gradually reaches its peak one hour after deep sleep. Generally, the peak period of secretion is from 22:00 to 1:00 in the morning. If you go to bed too late, the height of growing children will be affected. Therefore, children should go to bed no later than 21:00, and it is generally most appropriate to go to bed before 20:00. In this way, the peak period of growth hormone secretion will not be missed.

You can play some soothing music, tell some short stories in a quiet environment, and watch some calmer cartoons in bed.

2. Let your child get enough sleep

Giving children enough sleep is most beneficial to their growth and development. This is related to the amount of sleep children need. A newborn baby needs to sleep 16 hours a day, 14 hours after 3 months of birth, 13 hours from 6 months to 1 year old, and 12 hours from 2 to 3 years old. In other words, infants and young children spend half of the day sleeping. REM sleep, also known as "REM sleep" or "rapid eye movement sleep", is the best way to give the brain a rest. Newborns and breastfeeding babies have 40-50% paradoxical sleep, while adults only have 20%. This shows how important it is to let infants and young children get enough sleep.

3. Turn off the lights after going to bed

Normally, when we turn off the lights and sleep, the body's physiological functions are coordinated and metabolism is balanced. However, if you are exposed to artificial light for a long time, the subtle "light pressure" will disturb the physiological regulation of the retina, and the eyeball and ciliary muscle will not get enough rest. Over time, it will inevitably affect vision.

It has been reported that infants who are often exposed to light at night will have their calcium absorption reduced by about 25%. Calcium deficiency can also cause myopia, as well as many other problems such as waking up easily during sleep, prolonged feeding time, slow weight gain, etc., which are not conducive to the growth and development of children. In addition, it may also affect the protective inhibition of the central nervous system, leading to intellectual and language disorders.

In order for children to develop healthily, lights should be turned off after going to bed at night. Remember not to turn on the lights when working, reading or watching TV around your children.

4. Infants should take off their clothes before sleeping

The infancy period is the period from birth to 1 year old. Some parents let their infants sleep with clothes on, or even wrap their hands and feet when sleeping, which is not conducive to the healthy growth of the children.

Sleeping without clothes is beneficial to children's growth and development. Children grow rapidly during the infancy period. During this period, if they often sleep with their clothes on, it will affect their blood circulation, make it difficult for them to rest, and to a certain extent affect their physical development. Sleeping without clothes can make infants sleep more comfortably and peacefully, which is beneficial to the healthy growth of children.