Is Sleep Important?

“Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder what you are?” How many times did you try to sing that to your child to sleep? Me I think I am close to 1,837,448 times, did it work not always 😂 I think I will be more successful making my wife sleep with that lullaby, but anyhow why is sleep important for our children? I am sure this topic is in an interesting one to read of such an important function throughout our day. Obviously I am no expert in this, but I know someone who is, readers please meet our new collaborator Janita of SleepWell Synergy.

MalteseDaddy: We thank you for finding time for this interview, so today’s interview we are starting with an important topic, but basic topic why is sleep important? We all know the version of why we adults need sleep, but why do babies need sleep?

Janita: I am glad I have the opportunity to share the knowledge I have learnt, so I can educate all our readers why we need sleep and why is it important. Sleep is as important as nutrition and exercise. It’s when the body repackages neurotransmitters, chemicals that enable brain cells to communicate.

MalteseDaddy: Yes, I can imagine that, so what happens if we neglect sleep to our child?

Janita: Every function in our bodies are affected by sleep. And for a child, the risks of sleep deprivation are much more serious than simply waking up in an irritable mood. Research shows that children with sleep disturbances have more medical complications – such as allergies and ear infections. They are also more prone to have social and emotional challenges.

MalteseDaddy: Yikes, so what are the advantages of sleep?

Janita: The advantages of sleep are so good for your child’s development, I will explain in a more easy way so everyone can understand:

• Sleep promotes growth – Growth hormone is primarily secreted during sleep.
• Sleep affects weight – There’s increasing evidence that getting too little sleep causes kids to become overweight, starting at infancy.
• Sleep helps beat germs – During sleep, children (and adults) also produce proteins known as cytokines, which the body relies on to fight infection, illness, and stress.
• Sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart vessels.
• Sleep reduces injury risk – Children are clumsier and more impulsive when they don’t get enough sleep, setting them up for accidents.
• Sleep increases a child’s attention span – Children who consistently sleep fewer than ten hours a night before age 3 are three times more likely to have hyperactivity and impulsive problems by age 6.
• Sleep boosts learning – Sleep aids learning in children of all ages, and education experts are finding that naps have a particular effect.

MalteseDaddy: What message do you want to pass to our parents out there?

Janita: The simple fact is that kids sleep less today than they used to and unless we make an effort to get that sleep time back, their health will suffer.

MalteseDaddy: Thank you Janita, as better we keep this interview short and sweet and tune in next time when we delve into a bit more detail about the importance of sleep, I will meet you next time and talk about potty training 💩

Janita: Yes, there are so many more interesting stuff about why our children need sleep, so parents make sure that you are giving your child the right amount of sleep and if you’re having problems, speak up!

Thank you, Janita for today’s interview and I would like to encourage people to speak out if they have problems with their children with sleeping. You might ask, what can we do? Very simple the reason for me collaborating with professionals is to guide parents to solve their problems, so if you do have a problem with sleep, contact Janita on her facebook page SleepWell Synergy.

Join us next week for Ask the Expert 😊