Active Children Enjoy Better Sleep

It’s not a great breakthrough discovery that kids who were very active during the day fall asleep faster and get a sounder sleep, but now it has been proved scientifically. A recent study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood shows that children whose day is engaged in sedentary activities mostly need considerably more time to fall asleep when they go to bed.

The research gives exact figures: for every hour spent in active occupation – running about, climbing, and so on – the time a child is fast asleep after he or she hits the pillow is reduced by 5 or 6 minutes. Whereas every sedentary hour increases the time lapse by 3 minutes.

That puts the amount of daily activity of a child in a direct correlation with how fast he or she will be able to fall asleep. The shorter the time required to fall asleep, the study says, the longer we can expect the child to sleep.

There is an established link between getting less sleep and the risk of gaining excessive weight, but no other health problems seem to be involved, scientists say.

They underscored once again that physical activity is an important factor for getting good sleep as well as for keeping in shape, and having normal weight.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/shdt.