The Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine yesterday warned that insufficient sleep might result in depression, anxiety and other mood disorders in children after a medical survey showed that 84.6 percent of high-school students in Taipei are not getting enough sleep.
The survey of about 20,000 children in Taipei was conducted by National Chengchi University professor of psychology Yang Chien-ming (楊建銘) and Taipei City Hospital Renai Branch pediatrician Chang Yung-sen (張詠森).
The majority of school-aged children in Taipei got fewer hours of sleep than recommended by the US National Sleep Foundation, especially older children, who were found to get less sleep than younger ones, the survey showed.
While 80.5 percent of preschool children have enough sleep, the figure dropped to 61.5 percent for elementary-school students and 15.4 percent for junior and senior-high school students, while 45.7 percent of high-school children are sleep-deprived, the survey showed.
Low-quality sleep is linked to other factors, including discomfort stemming from asthma-induced nighttime coughing, hayfever and eczema, which leads to difficulty falling asleep, shallow sleep and daytime fatigue, it said.
Children who use cellphones, tablets and computers within an hour of going to bed also slept less and reported drowsiness during the day, it said.
Children who have insufficient sleep are more likely to develop attention-deficit disorders and other mood or behavior-affecting conditions, the survey showed.
In teenagers, chronic lack of sleep is correlated to depression, anxiety and inhibited growth, the society said.
Parents should encourage good sleeping habits by using an alarm clock to set bedtime, which can also remind children to pack their bag for the next day and set aside their toys as they prepare mentally for sleep, it said.
Alarm clocks also help parents avoid arguments with children over bedtime, which reduces delays, it said, adding that parents must be firm in making their child go to bed on time.
Sunlight inhibits melatonin and helps keep children awake during the day, so window shades should be opened to let in sunlight 15 to 20 minutes before the child gets out of bed, it said, adding that sunlight during breakfast and on the way to to school also helps.
A later bedtime should be considered for children who have a hard time falling asleep, but they should not be allowed to oversleep on weekends, it said.
Parents should help children plan their day to have sufficient sleep during the school week so that they would not oversleep on weekends, which could lead to changes in their sleep schedule, the society said.
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