Why children with strict bedtimes get the best sleep
- Children ‘encouraged’ to go to bed were 71 per cent less likely to sleep enough
- Those with actual bedtimes were 59 per cent more likely to get adequate sleep
- Public Health Ontario in Canada who authored the study recommend nine to 11 hours sleep for those aged five – 13 and eight to 10 hours for 14 – 17-year-olds
Victoria Allen Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
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It has fallen out of fashion among some parents who prefer to negotiate over when their children want to go to bed.
But setting a strict bedtime has emerged as by far the best way to make sure they get enough sleep.
While simply ‘encouraging’ youngsters to go to bed in the week might lead to fewer tantrums, a study has now found it does not work.
In fact children encouraged, rather than told, to go to sleep are less likely to get the amount they need.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,600 parents, finding their use of bedtimes sharply fell as soon as their children became teenagers.
While simply ‘encouraging’ youngsters to go to bed in the week might lead to fewer tantrums, a study has now found it does not work but children get enough sleep when they are told
As parents became less involved in their schoolchildren’s bedtimes, their sleep deprivation appeared to rise, with 15-year-olds worst affected.
The study found children ‘encouraged’ to go to bed were 71 per cent less likely to get enough sleep. But those with actual bedtimes were 59 per cent more likely to get the sleep they needed.
The findings, from Public Health Ontario in Canada, are based on recommendations of nine to 11 hours of sleep per night for five to 13-year-olds, which are similar to British advice, and eight to 10 hours for 14 to 17-year-olds.
Dr Heather Manson, senior author of the study and chief of health promotion, chronic disease and injury prevention at Public Health Ontario, said: ‘We found that “encouragement” as a parental support was less effective for both weekend and weekday sleep.
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‘Enforcement of rules around bedtimes had a significant impact, but only on weekdays. We can conclude that parents enforcing a bedtime on the weekday could help support their child to achieve sufficient sleep.’
Children who are sleep-deprived are more likely to be obese, do more poorly at school and struggle to control their emotions.
They are also more likely to cause parenting stress and marital conflict between their mother and father.
The study found children ‘encouraged’ to go to bed were 71 per cent less likely to get enough sleep. But those with actual bedtimes were 59 per cent more likely to get adequate rest
Previous research puts children at a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure if they do not meet sleep guidelines.
The Canadian study, based on questionnaires given to parents, found around 94 per cent encouraged their children to go to bed at a set time.
Just over 84 per cent enforced that bedtime, giving their child no option but to go to sleep.
Their 59 per cent increased likelihood of having well-rested children was maintained when education and household income were taken into account.
Dr Manson said: ‘Sleep is increasingly being recognised as an important determinant of health, and an integral component of healthy living for children, integrated with other behaviours such as physical activity and sedentary time.
‘In the family context, parents’ support behaviours towards sleep could play an important role in their child’s health.’
The researchers say the impact of bedtimes during the week may not have been matched at weekends in their study because parents are less strict and give their children more discretionary time.
This can lead to the use of smartphones and tablets, whose blue light has been shown to affect children’s sleep.
But they said parents who set bedtimes during the week may be so successful in getting their children to sleep because they provide more structure in the day.
It follows research suggesting fixed mealtimes and structured evenings improve children’s sleep.
Concerningly, the study found parents’ efforts to control their children’s screen time had little effect on their sleep. It said they may have ‘unlimited control’ or may make the devices more enticing by trying to restrict their use.
The study concludes: ‘The importance of children getting a good night’s sleep, and the capacity of parents to help them do so, should be emphasised in public health efforts to promote healthy childhoods.’
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