Healthy routines start with sleep
With school and a return to routine for families around the corner, safefood, the HSE and Healthy Ireland are encouraging parents to get bedtime back on track as the key to starting their children on the way to a healthier life for their return to school.
New research carried out by safefood uncovered that since the beginning of Covid-19, 43% of children are going to bed later, 44% are waking later each morning and as a direct result of children experiencing changes in their sleep routine, 49% are eating more unhealthy snacks or treats, 54% are less active and 67% are engaging in more screen time, all of which can lead to childhood obesity.
Following an extensive period of time at home due to Covid19 and with a gradual return to offices and school, now more than ever there is a need for families to start putting a healthier routine back into daily life.
ROUTINE
Many families have lost a sense of routine since the start of Covid-19 and are looking for ways to restore it. The research from safefood has also revealed that 60% of parents expressed concern about getting their children back into a routine for school.
The research confirmed that parents have been finding a range of behaviours challenging to manage while children have been out of school, reporting difficulties in managing habits such as screen usage (55%), eating unhealthy treats and snacks (54%), getting regular exercise and activity (47%) and having a good sleep routine (52%).
In a focus group carried out as part of the START campaign, parents told safefood that getting the sleep routine right was the key to improving all the other unhealthy behaviours, inspiring the ‘Healthy Routines Start with Sleep’ campaign.
Sleep is the cornerstone to health and wellbeing and its impact on a healthy lifestyle cannot be underestimated. We know that poor sleep routines are associated with sedentary behaviour and research has shown that a lack of sleep is associated with increased overweight and obesity, especially in younger age groups. Insufficient sleep duration is thought to increase appetite, desirability of unhealthy foods and lower physical activity.
As part of the campaign to help get bedtime back on track, Dr Colman Noctor, Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist, commented: “A fundamental role of childhood is building regulation in all aspects of life with sleep being the corner stone of this regulation process. The key to this is regularity and consistency with consistent sleep patterns assisting your child to regulate all other aspects of their lives including appetite, energy, emotions and physical activity. Sleep should be seen as a recharging process whereby if not enough sleep is achieved, there will be negative knock-on effects across all other aspects of a child’s life. Sleep also has a significant impact on cognitive function, so concentration, memory and focus are also compromised with insufficient sleep.”
Commenting on ‘Healthy Routines Start With Sleep’, Dr Marian O’Reilly, chief specialist in nutrition, safefood said: “Research shows that not getting enough sleep impacts on children’s health in many ways including increased risk of excess body weight. Sleep influences appetite hormones and being up for longer means there are more opportunities to eat, which can impact on their weight. Many parents have told us that they have found sleep, snacking, managing treat foods and other healthy behaviours difficult over recent months. A good sleep routine is the key to unlocking these challenges.”
TIPS
To help get bedtime back on track, Dr Colman Noctor offers the following sleep advice to parents:
- Consistent bedtimes are at the heart of the routine to provide regularity and predictability that over time will help a child to self-regulate.
- Reduce screen time and sugary foods and drinks in the hours leading up to bedtime.
- Encourage physical activity and fruit and vegetables during the day.
- Encourage relaxation skills and wind down activities.
- Value sleep time within the family culture.