NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If you're one of those parents who likes
to let their kids run themselves ragged so they fall asleep more easily, you
may be onto something: the more activity kids get, the faster they'll drop
off to sleep, according to a new study.
The study, in 591 seven-year-olds, also found that kids who spent more time
in sedentary activities took longer to actually fall asleep after they went
to bed.
Up to one in six parents of school-aged children report that their child has
difficulty falling asleep, Dr. Ed A. Mitchell of the University of Auckland
in New Zealand, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health by email. The
study's findings, he said, emphasize that physical activity isn't only
important for fitness, heart health, and weight control, but also for good
sleep.
Mitchell and his team had children wear an activity-measuring device around
their waists for 24 hours. They report their findings in the Archives of
Disease in Childhood.
Most children took about 26 minutes to fall asleep after bedtime, they
found. The more activity a child did, the less time it took him to fall
asleep.
"We showed that one hour of vigorous activity (equivalent to running)
reduced the time to fall asleep by almost 6 minutes," Mitchell said.
"However, the average amount of vigorous activity was only 43 minutes,"
Mitchell said. Also, he added, the children tended to be active in short
bursts. "Their activity might better be described as stop-go rather than
continuous as an adult might do when they exercise."
And for every hour a child spent each day being sedentary, it took them 3
minutes longer to get to sleep.
The researchers also found that children who took less time to get to sleep
stayed asleep for longer, and vice versa.
"Fortunately, difficulty getting to sleep wasn't associated with other
health problems," Mitchell said, although getting less sleep has been linked
to obesity.
SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, September 2009.
