Why it’s critical for children to get enough sleep
Researchers examining a link between sleep and children’s obesity have found some startling news:
Children who slept less than 10 hours a night were 3.5 times more at risk of being overweight than those who slept 12 or more hours. No other factor analyzed in the study–parental obesity, parents’ level of education, family income, time spent in front of the TV or computer, regular physical activity–had as much of an impact on obesity than time spent sleeping.
Researchers point to the role of two hormones in explaining the results. With inadequate sleep, ghrelin, known as the “hunger hormone,” rises, while leptin, a hormone that signals satiety, falls.
Interestingly, since 1960 obesity levels have doubled while the number of young adults getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep nightly doubled from 16% to 37%.
More here.
[tags] children, obesity, sleep, studies[/tags]