According to Herald.ie, not getting enough sleep can contribute to anxiety and other serious health issues like heart disease and obesity in schoolchildren, a leading sleep expert has warned.
Irish sleep consultant Lucy Wolfe, of Cork’s Sleep Matters Clinic and author of The Baby Sleep Solution, claims sleep is more than a behavioural technique. “It is not always the case that children outgrow their sleeping problems,” she said.
“Continued broken sleep and not enough sleep could be a contributory factor to a compromised immune system, lack of concentration and anxiety. As many as 70% of parents reporting struggles with their children’s sleep have symptoms that go way beyond the typical duration.”
“Most research has concentrated on the brain consequences of sleep loss – based on the belief that sleep is for the brain alone. There is now growing evidence that short-duration sleep results in metabolic changes that may contribute to the development of obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
“According to a recent study, for each additional hour of sleep, the risk of a child becoming overweight or obese is lowered by an average 9%.”
