According to a study developed by researchers of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Preschoolers who sleep less than 9 hours have significant differences in some brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who sleep the recommended nine to 12 hours per night. These differences were related to greater mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and impulsive behaviors, in children who did not sleep. Inadequate sleep has also been associated with cognitive difficulties with memory, problem solving and decision making.
The results of the Research have been published in the scientific journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Babies who sleep less than nine hours: here’s what the long-term damage is
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children aged six to 12 get regular sleep for 9 to 12 hours a night to promote optimal health. To date, no studies have examined the long-term impact of insufficient sleep on the neurocognitive development of preteens.
To conduct the research, the team of scholars looked at data that was collected from more than 8,300 children aged 9-10 who were enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Researchers carefully studied the MRI images, medical records, and surveys completed by research volunteers and their parents upon enrollment and during a two-year follow-up visit between 11 and 12 years of age. . Funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH)the ABCD study is the largest long-term brain development and child health study in the United States.
“We found that babies who had insufficient sleep, less than nine hours a night, at the start of the study had less gray matter or a smaller volume in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory, and control. inhibition compared to those with healthy sleep. habits, āsaid the corresponding author of the study Ze WangProfessor of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at UMSOM: “These differences persisted after two years, a troubling finding that suggests long-term harm for those who don’t get enough sleep.”
This is one of the first research that has revealed the potential long-term impact of sleep deprivation on neurocognitive development in babies. The study also provides substantial support for current sleep recommendations for children, according to Dr. Wang and his team of researchers.
In the follow-up evaluations, the research team revealed that children recruited for the study in the sufficient sleep group tended to sleep gradually less over two years, which is normal as children enter adolescence, while models sleep levels of participants in the insufficient sleep group did not change as much. The researchers looked at other information such as socioeconomic conditions, gender, puberty status, and other factors that could have affected how long a child sleeps and could affect the brain and cognition.
“We tried to match the two groups as closely as possible to help us better understand the long-term impact of poor sleep on the pre-adolescent brain,” explained Dr. Wang. “More studies are needed to confirm our discovery and to see if any interventions can improve sleep habits and reverse neurological deficits “.
Fan Nils Yang, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Wang’s lab is a co-author of the study. Weizhen Xie, Ph.D., research fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, he is also a co-author of the study. UMSOM faculty members Thomas Ernst, Ph.D., and Linda Chang, MD, MS, are co-principal investigators of the ABCD study at the Baltimore site, but were not involved in the data analysis of this new study.
“This is a crucial finding from the study that underscores the importance of doing long-term studies on the developing baby’s brain,” he said. E. Albert Reece, MD, Ph.D., MBA: āSleep can often be neglected during the busy childhood days filled with tasks and extracurricular activities. Now let’s see how harmful it can be for a child’s development ā.
Sleep disturbances are very common among children with migraines: āSleep disturbances, while highly prevalent in pediatric migraine and frequently associated with greater headache severity, remain underdiagnosed in many cases. Given the relationship between the characteristics of sleep and migraine, improving sleep quality could help reduce migraine disability and vice versa ā. the authors write. “Therefore, the clinical evaluation of pediatric patients with migraine should always include a careful analysis of their sleep habits in order to detect the presence of sleep disturbances early.”
#Babies #sleep #hours #cognitive #problems