Is your child up with the larks or still hooting with the owls?
Chronobiology International – Informa Healthcare’s journal on how
biological rhythms affect the systems of living things – has published
a new study on the sleep patterns of young children.
The study concluded that, from a very young age, children can be
categorized into three main chronotypes: morning types (or ‘larks’),
evening types (‘owls), or intermediate types. Whatever their type,
children’s bodies seem to make up for the sleep deficit of scheduled
days by sleeping more on free days.
Parents and educators of ‘owl’ types may be concerned to learn that
a host of behavioural problems are more common amongst children who are
wakeful in the evenings and the results of this study indicate that
pre-pubertal children who fall into the ‘owl’ category may have
difficulty obtaining enough sleep. The study found that evening types
are at higher risk than morning types of not obtaining sufficient sleep
during scheduled days. This, in turn, may be associated with increased
daytime sleepiness, poorer school achievement, and greater emotional
and behavioural problems.
“Chronotype is an individual characteristic reflecting the time of
day at which individuals are ‘at their best’. Evening types can’t help
that they are evening types,” explains Helene Werner, a psychologist at
the Child Development Center of the University Hospital Zurich and
first author of the article in Chronobiology International. “However,
they are at risk of performing poorly due to discordance between their
individual circadian rhythm and social demands of a busy school and
sports schedule.”
Childhood sleep problems – such as bedtime resistance, not being
able to fall asleep, night waking and difficulties waking in the
mornings – are common parental concerns that affect more than 25% of
children during the first 10 years. Recognizing the individual child’s
circadian typology may help parents, teachers and health care
professionals in dealing with these types of sleep problems.
Many studies have demonstrated the differences between chronotypes
among adults and teenagers. This is the first time a comprehensive
study has been carried out on pre-pubertal children. The research was
conducted on 163 4-11 year old children in Zurich, Switzerland.
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