Titus 2 Men And Women

Is Sleep Important?

"According to Dr. Ronald Bryan, M.D., neurologist at Fort Sanders Parkwest Medical Center’s Sleep Lab, most children (preschoolers through adolescents) require 10-12 hours of sleep per night.  Less sleep can create concentration and behavioral problems....Sleep-deprived children often do not complain of being sleepy.  Instead, they show their sleep problems through mood and behavioral changes, attention problems, and perhaps poorer performance in school."

For more information on sleep deprivation: www.fsparkwest.com

When I was in college I did a term paper on sleep (not while I was asleep...on the subject of sleep).  I was intrigued as I discovered many reasons why our bodies need sleep.  When my children were young that information proved valuable to their growth and development...because I made sure they had the hours of sleep they needed.

Recently I taught first grade in a Christian school.  It was a vast learning experience for me for I had never taught the lower grades.  I learned so much about what children know today...and what they should not know.  I was reminded of the truths of the term paper I had written in college when I faced a class of sleep deprived children each day.  Out of a class of fourteen only two had a regular bed time...the two that were alert, amiable, and did very well in class---easily making good grades.  Everything I have put in this article concerning children without adequate sleep I found true for that first grade class.

A few weeks ago I got on the internet and searched out reports on sleep to refresh my memory and to update me on recent findings.  Like I was in college, I was again intrigued with the information I read.

First, let us remember that God made our bodies to require sleep.  Even Jesus required sleep while on earth. In His Word God refers to sleep 89 times, slumber 16 times, and dreams 84 times. Sleep is important to our bodies and our well being.

Psalm 4: 7-8  "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety."

Luke 8:23 "But as they sailed he (Jesus)  fell asleep:"

In my recent research I was reminded that the problem of sleep deprivation is well documented from the cradle to the grave.  I am not going to go into a lengthy dissertation but I encourage you to check out some of the links I will give you in this article.

Sleep for health:

Every article I read agreed there is no scientific explanation for why we need to sleep, but all agreed it is known our bodies only heal when we sleep.  The sleep that heals is called Delta sleep and our bodies heal and repair in this stage of sleep.  Sometimes during illness our body may fall immediately into Delta sleep because infection fighting antibodies are produced in greater numbers in this sleep stage.

During Delta sleep many neurotransmitters are restored.  Neurotransmitters are the vehicles that carry information back and forth between your body and mind.  These "information superhighways" enable us to repeat appropriate and predictable actions---informing muscles constantly about what they are doing so their actions can be modified. Two of the conditions most frequently misdiagnosed because of lack of sleep are mentioned in the next paragraph.

Researchers at the University of Toronto Center for Sleep and Chronobiology are uncovering important insights about how sleep heals.  Dr. Harvey Moldofsky and his colleagues studied the natural rhythm of sleep by interrupting the sleep of a group of medical students.  Over several nights, each time the students entered a deep-sleep phase, called the Delta phase, the researchers would interfere.  After a few nights of these disruptions, the students developed the classic symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. 

Dr. Moldofsky conducted another study on how the immune system reacts to sleep deprivation.  Researchers examined natural killer cells---a component of the immune system that attacks bacteria, viruses and tumors.  Depriving healthy men of four hours of sleep for one night caused the activity of the natural killer cells to decrease by more than one-fourth the next day.

Are Students Sleep Deprived?

Education World recently talked with two experts about the effects of sleep deprivation on elementary school students.

Studies show that 85% of children in kindergarten through fourth grade are not meeting their nightly sleep requirements says James B. Maas.  Maas is a professor at Cornell University and the author of two books about sleep:

"Power Sleep"-- for adults

"Brain Train: Traveling Through. the Land of Good Sleep"---for children

"Kids tell me that they fall asleep on the bus, and teachers say that they have to send kids to the nurse’s office to nap. Said Maas."

Dr. Carl Hunt, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, a component of the National Institutes of Health, agrees.  "We know from talking with teachers that children are sleepy in the classroom and that this is a significant problem," he told Education World.

Both Hunt and Maas said that elementary school children require at least nine hours of sleep a night to be well rested, and some need even more.  Both experts agreed that families are not going to be as early as they need to.  Parents who are staying up late to get everything done, often keep their children up too late as well.

Signs that a child is sleep-deprived:

Maas and Hunt both say that children and adults react differently to a lack of sleep.  Adults generally yawn and feel sleepy all day.  Like adults, children are hard to wake up in the morning and show sleepiness in the morning.  Unlike adults, children become more active---"wired", and less able to concentrate later in the day.  Because they become more "wired" as the day progresses children often have trouble falling asleep and parents may not realize that their children are not getting enough sleep.

The Better Sleep Council says children need at least nine hours of sleep each night.  To help insure that your children get enough sleep they recommend avoiding caffeine close to bedtime, keeping the room dark, the mattress comfortable, and avoid over-scheduling your children during the day. 

Parenting.com’s article "Winning Bedtime Battles: assure that good sleep habits develop in infancy.  They suggest putting your baby to bed while awake 50% of the time.  This way the baby will learn to nod off on their own and not be dependent on you to be a part of going to sleep. 

In the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" Marc Weissbluth writes:

"Sleep deficiency in childhood may harm neurological development, and the problems might not show up until later.  I think it is possible that unhealthy sleep habits contribute to school related problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity. Disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities.  I also suspect that chronically tired children become chronically tired adults who suffer in ways we can’t measure: less resiliency, less ability to cope with life’s stress, less curiosity, less empathy, less playfulness.  The message here is simple:  Sleep is a powerful modifier of behavior, performance, and personality."

According to experts at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center in St. Louis, the current estimates of the sleep needs of children for each 24 hours are as follows:

• One-year-old:  14 hours, including one or two naps.
• Two-year-old:  11-12 hours at night plus a single, after-lunch nap of one to two hours.
• Three-year-old:  12-12 ½  hours
• Four-year-old:  11 ½ -12 hours
• Five-year-old:  11 hours
• Six-year-old:  10 ¾ -11 hours
• Seven-year-old:  10 ½ -11 hours
• Eight-year-old: 10 ¼ -10 ¾ hours
• Nine-year-old:  10- 10 1/3 hours
• Ten through puberty: 9 ¾ to 10 hours
• Adolescent to adult:  9 ¼ hours

Sleep deprived teens:

Mary Carskadon, a professor and sleep specialist at Brown Medical School says, Over and over, the link between depression and insufficient sleep in adolescents pops up in research.   She says what bothers her is teenagers actually know how much sleep they need.  They just don’t get any support to figure out how to get it.

She said modern society scorns sleep as a waste of time; a burden that gets in the way of both work and play. 

She says at an early age, children are taught that staying up late is a reward.  For teenagers, bedtime becomes an issue of asserting their independence.

Educating children and families about sleep:

Forty-seven percent of the American population thinks the brain shuts down in sleep.  But in sleep the brain is highly active.  Dr. Carl Hunt says, "Parents, teachers, and children need to recognize that good sleep habits are just as important to overall health as diet and exercise.  A chronic lack of adequate sleep can exacerbate a tendency toward diabetes and being overweight, two growing health concerns in the United States.  We must learn to value sleep.  Sleep is essential; it is not a luxury."   He also noted children not getting enough sleep are more accident prone.

Tips for Healthful Sleep:

Carl Hunt and James B. Maas offer the following tips to help parents help children develop healthy sleep habits:

• Establish a reasonable bedtime. Most elementary school children should be going to bed by 9 p.m. Some children who require more sleep might need an earlier bedtime.
• Allow sufficient time to wind down before bedtime. Children should not be engaging in intense activities, such as watching television, playing video games, or using the computer, right before they go to bed. They need about an hour of down time to prepare to fall asleep. Such relaxing activities as taking a bath or reading a story can help children fall asleep more easily.
• Avoid giving children caffeinated beverages and foods high in sugar in the late afternoon and evening.
• Provide a quiet sleeping area that is conducive to sleep. Maintain a consistent nightly routine. Children should go to bed at the same time every night, including weekends.

Online resources about sleep deprivation in children:

Even Kids Suffer from Sleep Deprivation A CNN report describes a five-year educational initiative to promote healthful sleep habits in children. The program, cosponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (a component of the National Institutes of Health), Garfield creator Jim Davis's PAWS, Inc., and the National Sleep Foundation, target parents, teachers and health care providers.

Snoring Tied to ADHD in Kids An article from MSNBC discusses research into the possible link between sleep disorders and such hyperactivity disorders as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Sleep and Behavior Problems in School-Aged Children This abstract of an article about sleep problems in children ages 4-12 was published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2001.

Guide to Your Child's Sleep Order the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidebook about children's sleep.

Common Sleep Problems An article from the American Academy of Pediatrics discusses common sleep problems in children.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine Tips on sleep hygiene and a state-by-state listing of sleep centers where sleep disorders can be diagnosed and treated are provided by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Brain Activity Is Visibly Altered Following Sleep Deprivation This summary of an article about the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain was published in the journal Nature (February 10, 2000).

Lack of Sleep Takes Toll on Brain Power: Tired Brains Try to Adapt, but Don't Learn Well The effects of too little sleep on the brain are discussed in this article.

Hyper Kids -- Misplaced Blame: Hyperactivity and/or A.D.D. or Just Not Enough Sleep? This article looks at the relationship between sleep disruption and disruptive daytime behavior, which may be misdiagnosed as attention-deficit disorder (ADD).

National Sleep Foundation The National Sleep Foundation conducts research and informs the public about sleep and sleep disorders. Some materials are available in Spanish. The site includes an extensive list of resources, such as international sleep organizations and community sleep centers throughout the United States.

Children's Health: Sleep Deprivation This article provides a good summary of children's sleep needs. It includes suggestions for getting kids to bed earlier and a table listing average sleep requirements by age for children between the ages of 1 and 16.

Sleepnet.com This site includes sleep disorder information, public forums, a sleep test, and sleep clinician links.

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