Nothing helps a person better than an excellent eight-hour sleep; this is the same with children too. Studies show that children need quality sleep to have a good memory, concentration, and behaviour. If your children do not get good sleep, they will feel sleepy throughout the day and won’t concentrate on their studies. It will prevent them from gaining knowledge and excelling in class; so, make sure that your children get good sleep every night. Read more to understand the importance of sleeping on a child’s learning ability.
Why is sleep necessary?
Sleep is an indispensable part of anyone’s daily routine, and children need more sleep than adults. Good sleep will help your child have an energetic day and excel in their activities; it also helps them focus on their daily routine. Let us look at the benefits of healthy sleep on children’s learning:
- Increase concentration: Studies show that a well-slept child can concentrate more than a sleep-deprived child. Having quality sleep and waking up peacefully helps your child focus more on his/her surroundings and learn from them. Sleep increases the attention span of your child and increases the learning capacity.
- Sharp memory power: When you sleep early and get a reasonable amount of sleep time, your brain will also get rest. That is truer in the case of children; when they sleep more, their brain also gets a good nap. And the following day, before waking up, the brain sorts and stores all the things that the child learned the previous day and prepares itself for new information. A well-rested brain remembers things more clearly and creates room for more knowledge; that will help the child be more accurate and precise. So, ensure quality sleep for good memory and good memory for excellent learning.
- Good behaviour: A sleepless child is always a weak child who is unenergetic for any learning activity. He or she cannot engage herself in any activity with enthusiasm as other well slept children. It will prevent the child from having friends at school and taking part in school activities. The sleeping pattern affects children’s behaviour; lack of sleep for a prolonged period can adversely affect their behaviour. But a well-slept child will be energetic and enthusiastic all day and will take part in all of the school activities happily.
If your child shows signs of weakness, lack of attention in class, or poor memory, it can indicate poor sleep.
Ideal sleeping routine
Doctors say that children need more sleep than adults, and the number of hours required for sleeping varies according to age. Here are the sleeping hours suggested by doctors for children of different age group:
- Infants who are smaller than one year need 12 to 16 hours of sleep a day.
- Children between the age of one and two should sleep for 10-14 hours daily
- Toddlers above two and under five years should have 10- 13 hours of sleep.
- Children between six and twelve years of age should sleep for 9-12 hours
- And teenagers should sleep for 8-10 hours a day.
If your child does not get these many hours of sleep, it is time to reschedule their routine and fix a healthy timetable.
Help your child sleep well.
Sleep is essential for children’s physical and mental health, but it is hard to make children sleep if they are not sleepy. Being good parents or babysitters, you must somehow get them to bed. Try telling them pleasant bedtime stories or giving them a warm bath; it will help them fall asleep quickly. And remember that bright light and screen light are enemies of good sleep, so dim the light and never give children gadgets before bedtime. Visit Cheeky Chums to know more about childcare and how we can ensure your child can maximise their development potential.
