We often say that if you sleep well, you will be in a better mental state. A child's energy, memory, and learning efficiency during the day are all affected by the quality of sleep the night before. Lack of sleep at night can lead to tiredness, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, etc. the next day. If the quality of sleep is poor for a long time, the incidence of diseases such as high blood sugar and high blood pressure will increase.
What factors affect sleep
1. Work and rest habits
According to the physical and mental development characteristics of students of different ages, primary school students should sleep 10 hours a day, junior high school students should reach 9 hours, and high school students should reach 8 hours. If you want to ensure the duration of sleep, the bedtime for elementary school students who wake up early to go to school is generally no later than 21:20, junior high school students are generally no later than 22 hours, and high school students are generally no later than 23 hours. If your child sleeps irregularly and gets used to staying up late, it may lead to a disturbance in the biological clock and affect your child's sleep quality.
2. Environmental factors
The environment in which you sleep has a big impact on your child's sleep quality. The temperature is controlled at about 22 degrees Celsius, the relative humidity is controlled at 60%~70%, the light is dim, and the surroundings are quiet, which is more conducive to ensuring a good and comfortable sleep. The mattress is moderately soft and firm, and wearing sweat-wicking cotton pajamas also helps you sleep.
3. Physical and psychological factors
Children in adolescence have large fluctuations in sex hormone levels and are prone to symptoms of yin deficiency and fire, which may affect the child's sleep. In addition, as the pressure of learning increases, the psychological pressure on children also increases, and they often feel nervous and anxious, which will also affect the quality of sleep to a large extent.
4. Dietary factors
Diet is an important factor in the quality of sleep. After eating, the digestion, absorption and metabolism of food require the participation of multiple organs such as the stomach, intestines, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and kidneys. When the human organs are burdened, children are prone to difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep.
Rational Sleep
1. Eat at the right time
Breakfast is recommended from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and dinner time is recommended from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Dinner time should not be too late, otherwise when sleeping, the gastrointestinal and other digestive organs will be burdened and the blood sugar level will be high, which will have an adverse effect on the quality of sleep.
It is best not to eat 90 minutes before bedtime. Eating before bedtime, including drinking milk, can cause food to accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, leaving the gastrointestinal tract without rest at night, affecting sleep quality.
2. Choose appropriately
Your child's daily diet should include protein foods, carbohydrate foods, vitamin foods, and a variety of foods.
Many studies have shown that magnesium plays a vital role in nerve transmission, normal muscle contraction, etc., and at the same time, magnesium is beneficial to maintain the body's emotional stability, can also regulate the secretion of melatonin, improve sleep quality, and help maintain a normal sleep cycle. If you want to improve your sleep, you can properly supplement foods containing magnesium, such as spinach.
3. Moderate intake of carbohydrate foods
Carbohydrate foods should not be consumed too much, but not eating staple foods or eating too little may also lead to lighter sleep, lower sleep quality, or lead to hunger and inability to sleep, long falling asleep, and even long night awakenings.
Therefore, it is recommended that children eat less high-calorie foods such as high sugar and oil, and consume staple foods in moderation, which is conducive to promoting the production of serotonin and the synthesis of melatonin. Serotonin calms people and can make people sleep better, while melatonin makes people feel drowsy, which has an important impact on the maintenance of sleep duration and sleep quality.