Naps Benefits for Children - Sleep is a natural process of resting function of the body after doing the activity. Sleep means less body movement and decreased awareness of the surrounding environment. Many experts believe that sleep can give you peace and restore the condition of the body, whether physical, emotional, social and cognitive processes of the brain. For infants and children, sleep is a major priority.
2-year-old children generally require 12-15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. 3-year-old children need to sleep 11-14 hours a day. While the 4-5 year-old children need to sleep for 10-13 hours each day. Among the sleep time, as much as 1-3 hours must be the child's nap time. Although seem trivial, it turns napping for infants and toddlers is very good for growth and development. What are they?
When the child is able to crawl or walk, they tend not to be silent and always on the move all the time. At that time, not only their bodies are doing the activity, but also all the muscles, brain, and organs in the body. With nap, the child can rest his body so that they will feel more refreshed after waking up and getting back on the move.
Sleep was instrumental in the growth of muscle, bones and skin, wound repair and keep the body fit. During sleep, the body releases growth hormone (growth hormone). This hormone is produced by the brain and in collaboration with other hormones, such as thyroid hormone, adrenal, bone, and muscle, which all contribute to the growth of the child's body. In addition, sleep is also able to increase the body's immune system to produce specific proteins in response to infection and fight disease.
Besides beneficial to their growth, nap also contribute to the development and growth of the brain. The brain will store the information while we were sleeping. It is believed that we do not really learn anything until we lay down to sleep so that the brain can process and store the information received. Morning and afternoon sleep is closely related to the length of attention (attention), preparedness and rapid learning process. A study conducted in Canada reveals that children aged 3 years naps become more adaptive than who did not nap. In fact it is said also that children with an IQ above average rat has time to sleep longer than 30-40 minutes on average children of the same age
There are no specific standards at what the child should nap, as long as no late afternoon. If the child nap late, it will affect nighttime sleep time. Before going to bed, parents should pay attention to the child's condition so that it comfortable for sleeping. Keep children do not sleep on an empty stomach or hungry, because it can make the child is awake and restless. If before sleeping child eating a heavy meal, it should be an interval between napping and eating do not get too close, around 1-2 hours for food can be digested properly.
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