Getting enough sleep, especially REM sleep, makes it easier for the brain to process emotional information. During sleep, the brain works to evaluate and recall thoughts and memories, and it seems that lack of sleep is especially detrimental to the consolidation of positive emotional content. However, sleep isn't just essential for the brain. Michael Twery, sleep expert at NIH.
Getting enough sleep is essential to maintaining optimal health and well-being. Like exercise and a balanced diet, sleep can help prevent a range of health problems, such as heart disease and depression. Students who have trouble grasping new information or learning new skills are often advised to sleep on it, and that advice seems to be well-founded. If people don't get enough sleep, there may not be this nighttime drop in blood pressure, which seems to be important for good cardiovascular health. Lack of sleep can also negatively affect the heart and vascular system by increasing the production of certain proteins that are thought to play a role in heart disease.
While every child is different, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night for younger children and 8 to 10 hours for teens. The sleep research community has made many calls to eliminate daylight saving time. If you watch a horror movie, read an emotional article, or consume any other content that makes you anxious on the screen, this can affect your ability to fall asleep. If you've followed the recommendations listed above and your child is still having trouble sleeping, talk to your child's pediatrician.
Dr. Ellen Braaten is executive director of the Emotional and Learning Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and former co-director of the MGH Clay Cente. In young children, lack of sleep or poor sleep quality may be associated with difficult behaviors, a reduced ability to learn and retain information, and a propensity to have poor eating patterns and to gain weight. Modern life in the United States and many other countries doesn't always involve the need for enough sleep.
More recently, studies have shown that healthy dietary patterns, in general, and not just specific foods, could be associated with longer sleep duration and shorter time to fall asleep. The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to promoting and supporting the mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being of young people. There have been several studies over the years that have linked obesity to poor sleep patterns. To find out how long you need to sleep, wake up without an alarm for three days in a row and average the hours.
This one-hour loss of sleep is associated with a significantly higher number of car accidents and heart episodes. The body releases hormones during sleep that help repair cells and control the body's use of energy.
