Three ways exercise helps your little ones sleep better.
Are your children dealing with sleepiness during the day while being wide awake at night? You're not alone! Legions of parents experience this as a persistent issue, and naturally, it can wreak havoc on the whole family's lifestyle.
Fortunately there are ways to help your little ones sleep better –– and one is by making sure they get more exercise. For general reference, the CDC notes that less than one quarter of children aged 6-17 get the recommended 60 minutes of exercise each day. Sometimes it can be even more difficult to get the younger ones the proper amount of activity (given that you need to be a bit more hands-on!).
Nevertheless, if you can make sure your little ones get enough exercise and activity, there are a few ways in which the effort may just lead to better sleep.
Exercise addresses insomnia
It's not really a word you think of with regard to kids, right? We usually consider insomnia to be more of an "adult" condition, and for the most part this may be accurate. However, SymptomFind documented in an article early this year that approximately 30% of the entire U.S. population is affected by insomnia at one point or another –– and that does include children (even in infancy).
Both types of insomnia –– short-term and long-term –– have symptoms such as not being able to fall back asleep if you wake up too early, and not being able to fall asleep in the first place. And believe it or not, a bit more exercise can help. Numerous studies have shown that prolonged, regular activity leads to more success falling and staying asleep.
Exercise improves the quality of sleep
Once your child falls asleep after a day of exercising, they are less likely to suffer from the effects related to high levels of adrenaline and cortisol –– two hormones that are meant to keep us awake and alert. As a result, they should sleep through the night, or at least for longer periods of time before waking up again. This is important, because often as parents we get so (understandably) focused on getting them to drift off that the quality of their sleep becomes less of a priority.
Be sure to pay attention to how much sleep your children need, also. According to U.S. News, children aged 3-5 should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep, children aged 6-13 should get 9 to 11 hours, and teens aged 14-17 ought to be getting between 8 and 10 hours of sleep. (Sounds nice, right?)
Exercise reduces the risk of obesity
While this isn't something we tend to think of in association with young children, obesity at any age increases the risk of sleep apnea. According to a paper from AHA Journals, sleep apnea is present in about 40% of obese people, and 70% of patients with obstructive sleep apnea are obese.
Having sleep apnea severely inhibits your ability to sleep well, and obesity itself can also cause a plethora of other serious health conditions, even in young people. Even if "obesity" doesn't seem like a primary concern with your little ones, it’s important to help them children maintain a healthy weight through exercise and diet –– which will in turn help them sleep better at night.
Thanks for reading, and we hope this helps!
For more tips regarding your precious little ones, try one of these articles:
Five tips to teach your baby to self-soothe
Are your night-time snacks challenging sleep
Using stimulating activities to promote sleep