Many parents put their child to bed 'far too early'
Bad news for parents - toddlers are better at choosing their own bedtimes than adults, according to a new study.
U.S. scientists have found the main reason that toddlers are unable to sleep is because they often go to bed too early before their body clock is ready.
While an early bedtime might mean a break for parents, children lie awake for hours and end up associating bedtime with ‘arousal’ rather than sleep, the researchers warned.
An early bedtime might make toddlers resist bedtime, throw tantrums and resort to what the study calls 'curtain calls' - constantly getting up out of bed and coming downstairs or into their parents' bedroom, the University of Colorado, Boulder scientists said.
The study, published in journal Mind, Brain and Education said a good night’s sleep depends on when toddlers experience a rise in the body's levels of the hormone melatonin, which increases during the evening to govern the internal body clock.
Factors like the amount
of light as well as the child's own physical make up could determine
when melatonin is at the right level but it varies from child to child.
The scientists said that choosing a bedtime that is out of sync with the child's body clock is what causes sleepless nights - for both the child and parents.
They also warned that sleepless nights for toddlers could lead to them growing up with emotional and behavioural problems in later life.
The researchers studied 14 toddlers aged between 30 and 36 months, over six consecutive nights and measured melatonin levels at various intervals around bedtime, timed how long they took to sleep as well as their behaviour.
On average, the study found that melatonin levels rose at around 7.40pm in the evening and if parents then waited half an hour to put their children to bed, the child was typically asleep within 30 minutes.
But if children with later melatonin rise times were put to bed at that time, they took longer to go to sleep and were more likely to get up again or behave badly.
Associate professor and physiologist, Monique LeBourgeois, who led the study, said: ‘Sleeping at the wrong “biological clock” time leads to sleep difficulties, like insomnia, in adults.
‘While adults get to choose their own bedtime, toddlers rarely have this option.
‘A poor fit between bedtimes selected by
parents of toddlers and a rise in evening melatonin production increases
the likelihood of night-time settling difficulties.’
The report said: ‘Toddlers with longer intervals between the onset of nightly melatonin release and their subsequent bedtimes were shown to fall asleep more quickly and had decreased bedtime resistance as reported by their parents.’
In other words, the more tired they are when they go to bed, the more likely they are to sleep.
Professor LeBourgeois added: ‘If your child is resisting bedtime or having problems falling asleep, it is likely he or she is not physiologically ready for sleep at that time.
‘For these toddlers, lying in bed awake for such a long time can lead to the association of bed with arousal, not sleep.
‘This type of response may increase children's lifelong risk for insomnia over time.’
U.S. scientists have found the main reason that toddlers are unable to sleep is because they often go to bed too early before their body clock is ready.
While an early bedtime might mean a break for parents, children lie awake for hours and end up associating bedtime with ‘arousal’ rather than sleep, the researchers warned.
Many children put to bed too early lie awake for
hours and end up associating bedtime with 'arousal' rather than sleep,
researchers have warned
An early bedtime might make toddlers resist bedtime, throw tantrums and resort to what the study calls 'curtain calls' - constantly getting up out of bed and coming downstairs or into their parents' bedroom, the University of Colorado, Boulder scientists said.
The study, published in journal Mind, Brain and Education said a good night’s sleep depends on when toddlers experience a rise in the body's levels of the hormone melatonin, which increases during the evening to govern the internal body clock.
The scientists said that choosing a bedtime that is out of sync with the child's body clock is what causes sleepless nights - for both the child and parents.
They also warned that sleepless nights for toddlers could lead to them growing up with emotional and behavioural problems in later life.
An early bedtime might make toddlers resist
bedtime, throw tantrums and resort to what the study calls 'curtain
calls' - constantly getting up out of bed and coming downstairs
The researchers studied 14 toddlers aged between 30 and 36 months, over six consecutive nights and measured melatonin levels at various intervals around bedtime, timed how long they took to sleep as well as their behaviour.
On average, the study found that melatonin levels rose at around 7.40pm in the evening and if parents then waited half an hour to put their children to bed, the child was typically asleep within 30 minutes.
But if children with later melatonin rise times were put to bed at that time, they took longer to go to sleep and were more likely to get up again or behave badly.
Associate professor and physiologist, Monique LeBourgeois, who led the study, said: ‘Sleeping at the wrong “biological clock” time leads to sleep difficulties, like insomnia, in adults.
‘While adults get to choose their own bedtime, toddlers rarely have this option.
A good night's sleep for toddlers depends on
when they experience a rise in the body's levels of the hormone
melatonin, which increases during the evening to govern the internal
body clock
The report said: ‘Toddlers with longer intervals between the onset of nightly melatonin release and their subsequent bedtimes were shown to fall asleep more quickly and had decreased bedtime resistance as reported by their parents.’
In other words, the more tired they are when they go to bed, the more likely they are to sleep.
Professor LeBourgeois added: ‘If your child is resisting bedtime or having problems falling asleep, it is likely he or she is not physiologically ready for sleep at that time.
‘For these toddlers, lying in bed awake for such a long time can lead to the association of bed with arousal, not sleep.
‘This type of response may increase children's lifelong risk for insomnia over time.’
Reference:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2525156/So-thats-toddler-sleeping-Many-parents-child-bed-far-early.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
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