When the wind blows, the cradle will rock and when babies sleep less, they may gain too much weight.
While listening to Talk of the Nation, on NPR on April 11, 2008, I heard an interview with Dr. Michelle Cao, one of the editors of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine where she discusses new findings.
Connections between sleep and other health conditions are the focus of the April edition of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Research published in the journal draws connections between sleep and a variety of conditions, including ADHD, obesity and long-term mental health.
A new Harvard study finds that babies and toddlers who sleep fewer than 12 hours daily are at greater risk for being overweight in preschool, startling evidence that the link between sleep and obesity may affect even very young children.
Sleep‘s impact on appetite hormones may explain the effect, Taveras said. In prior studies, sleep-deprived adults produced more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone that signals fullness.
TV viewing is thought to increase the risk of obesity because it takes time away from calorie-burning play and because of ads for snacks and fast food. TV viewing heightened the effect. The children who slept the least and watched the most television had the greatest chance of becoming obese.
“The two (behaviors) are acting independently. In combination, they are particularly risky,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Elsie Taveras of Harvard Medical School.
“The main message for parents is that there has to be regularity in sleep in children. It’s very important to maintain a schedule,” said Dr. Michelle Cao of Stanford University‘s sleep disorders clinic. She wasn’t involved in the study but co-wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.
Taveras recommended practices that teach infants to fall asleep on their own, putting them to bed when they’re drowsy but not fully asleep.
Self hypnosis can help you as a parent to be more calm, relaxed, patient and consistent with your children. You can even teach hypnosis to your children so that they have hypnotherapy skills to help them in school, sports and all other aspects of life.
If you have problems falling asleep and staying asleep, I recommend Sleep, Sleep, Sleep.
Your Hypnosis Health Info Hypnotic Suggestion for today:
I use self-hypnosis to be patient and consistent with my children.
