Sleep is a fundamental tool for every human being. While we sleep, we recover energy and rest from all the activity of the previous day. But it is even more important for babies and toddlers. Therefore, when we say that children should go to bed early, we understand that it is a habit of vital importance for their correct development.
Even if a child sleeps for ten hours, there are especially important times to take a break in order to optimize the daylight hours and minimize the activity of the child during the dark time.
For this reason, experts recommend that, once there is no more sunlight during the day, no more technological devices that provide artificial light should be used . It is advisable to minimize the use of television, computers and cell phones from the time it gets dark, and it is advisable not to watch their screens for two or three hours before going to bed.
What does this achieve? A fuller rest is achieved. Thus, the next morning, both children and adults are in a better state, with more energy to face whatever the day brings.
We should remember that artificial lights interfere negatively in the natural secretion of melatonin in the human organism, a substance necessary to fall asleep and have a good night's rest.
Children should go to bed early in order to...
We understand the complexity of putting children to bed early. If it is difficult for many adults, imagine the little ones. However, we must try to get them to sleep the corresponding hours and, as we say, during the night.
Sleeping when there is no light is better because, as mentioned above, when the sun goes down, our brain begins to secrete melatonin, the hormone that makes us feel sleepy and want to go to bed.
It is therefore advisable not to interfere too much with the natural generation of melatonin so as not to disrupt circadian rhythms and prevent children from sleeping well at night.
That said, it is important that we all understand that going to bed early is not a whim, but rather a physiological need. And this detail is even more necessary in the little ones, because they need more hours of sleep to replenish energy and get a good rest. Until they are adults, they will have to sleep between 9 and 11 hours to be able to perform at their best.
The benefits
Once the children sleep the estimated hours and do so during the night, they will achieve certain notable advantages in order to give their best in their day to day life:
- The brain processes the acquired information and stores the most important information.
- The brain secretes chemicals necessary to provide the human body with energy for daily life.
- Only children who sleep 9 to 11 hours are able to recover 100% of the previous day's expenditure.
- For a boy to be in a good mood and lively, he must have had adequate rest beforehand.
- The growth and development of the organism and the improvement of the immune system are directly related to sleep.
- By sleeping early and for an indicated number of hours, the child also reduces the likelihood of illness.
At Logos Nursery School, a nursery school in Las Rozas we are very committed to healthy lifestyle habits. For children to internalize and accept them, it is advisable to start early, from their earliest childhood. Therefore, in this sense, we can be excellent allies of parents, so that your children understand the need to apply a series of positive routines in their daily lives that allow them to develop properly, healthy, full and happy.
