Interestingly, half of the kids in the study went to bed between 8-9 p.m. Meanwhile, a quarter went to bed before 8 p.m., and the other quarter went to bed after 9 p.m.
Advertisement
She added that the earlier bedtime is also likely to benefit youngsters’ social and emotional development as well as their brain development.
Excess weight among kids is a major health problem that the USA now faces.
However this number increased to 16 per cent for those that had gone to bed between 8pm and 9pm, and more than doubled to 23 per cent for those who had gone to bed the latest, after 9pm.
Obesity can set kids up for a lifelong struggle with weight and health complications that can accompany it, including diabetes and heart disease, the study revealed.
The project followed babies born in 10 different United States cities in 1991.
The researchers found that by the time the kids were about 15 years old, only 10 percent of the kids with the earliest bedtimes were obese.
Authors of the study divided preschool bedtimes into three categories: 8 p.m. or earlier, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and after 9 p.m. The children were about 4 ½ years old when their mothers reported their typical weekday bedtime. On the other, hand, quarter of the study group fell in the first category, while the remaining quarter fell in the third category. They then found out that regardless of the mother-child relationship, the link between bedtime and obesity remains strong.
Non-white children having less-educated mothers and living in lower-income households were the ones who have later bedtimes.
Previous research has established a relationship between short sleep duration and obesity.
Study’s lead researcher Sarah Anderson said that the study findings are important for parents who if not following the early bedtime routine for their children can reschedule the routine for the later benefit.
“Earlier bedtimes are associated with longer sleep times”, Anderson said. Try getting her to bed early.
Scientists reporting online in The Journal of Pediatrics found, in a study of not quite a thousand US children, that preschoolers who got to bed by 8 p.m. were about half as likely as those who turned in after 9 p.m.to develop obesity in their teenage years.
Experts say sleep and nutrition are closely linked, but it does not mean an earlier bedtime will help in losing weight.
Pediatricians can also help to address obstacles families may face, she said.
“For parents, this reinforces the importance of establishing a bedtime routine”, says Anderson.
Advertisement
“Families have many competing demands and there are tradeoffs that get made”.
