Why Kids Should Resume Their Sleep Routines After Returning to School, According to Experts

Since the beginning of winter vacation It is common for school children to change their daily routines as they tend to spend more time in front of mobile devices and change their schedules. dream .

According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), children aged 3 to 5 years old should sleep From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., children aged 6 to 12 should sleep for 9 to 12 hours, while those aged 13 to 18 should sleep for 7 hours or more.

As many students across the country returned to class this week to begin their second semester of school after the end of winter break, it is crucial that they resume the sleep habits they had before the break.

According to experts, Sleep influences many cognitive processes, and for this reason it is essential that children have good habits in this area.

“The importance of sleep today, its hygiene and care, is directly associated with the development of boys and girls. It influences memory, learning, mood and behavior processes, immune responses, metabolic processes, adequate hormonal levels, digestion and many other physiological functions,” explains Jacqueline Páez, academic at the School of Physical Education of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso and director of the Research Group in Physical Education, Development, Learning and Behavior (Efidac).

Juan Hurtado, professor of physical education at the same university, adds that “while we sleep peacefully, our brain is very busy processing all the information obtained throughout the day.”

“This information will be more effective after a good night’s sleep. Thus, sleep plays a fundamental role in the proper development of the growing brain and in the important processes of brain plasticity that occur during this period,” he adds.

According to Páez, lack of sleep could lead to difficulties “in academic performance, attention, memory, executive functions, as well as impact the ability to encode, store and retrieve information.” It has also been linked to conditions such as anxiety, stress, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Data indicate that worldwide, during the pandemic, sleep disturbances in children and adolescents increased by 34%, with this group being the most affected, mainly due to the impact of the restrictions suffered,” he says.

The important thing is to respect each person’s circadian cycles, which “are synchronized with environmental patterns of light and darkness; during the night, melatonin begins to be secreted, which promotes rest and puts us into the sleep cycle,” explains Páez.

The two PUCV academics remind us that there are several steps to follow so that the youngest members of the household can resume their sleeping habits during this return to school. Some of these measures are limit the use of electronic devices and television in the hours closest to rest, reduce the use of video games that could put the body in stressful situations and practice physical activity outdoors, but not in the hours preceding rest.