Parents, teachers and doctors all agree that lack of sleep makes children cranky, tearful and more prone to tantrums. Now researchers from the UK have found that children with irregular bedtimes are more likely to have behavioral difficulties.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that irregular bedtimes could disrupt natural body rhythms and cause sleep deprivation, undermining brain maturation and the ability to regulate certain behaviors.
Adopting a regular bedtime routine is probably the first thing an adult with sleep problems would be advised to do. And the same applies to children. Following a routine helps train behavior and a nighttime routine helps your child learn to be sleepy.
Professor Yvonne Kelly, from University College London's department of UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, says:
"Not having fixed bedtimes, accompanied by a constant sense of flux, induces a state of body and mind akin to jet lag and this matters for healthy development and daily functioning."
She explains further:
"We know that early child development has profound influences on health and wellbeing across the life course. It follows that disruptions to sleep, especially if they occur at key times in development, could have important lifelong impacts on health."
Analyzing data from more than 10,000 children in the UK Millennium Cohort Study, the team collected bedtime data at 3, 5 and 7 years, as well as incorporating reports from the children's mothers and teachers on behavioral problems.
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