Does sleep affect children’s height growth?
In addition to genetics, rich nutrition and physical activity, children’s height is also closely related to adequate sleep. Why is this? The human pituitary gland secretes growth hormone, which manages the growth of the human body and promotes the development of bones in children and adolescents, resulting in height growth and protein synthesis in the human body.
However, the pituitary gland does not secrete growth hormone in large amounts all day long. It also has times when it works and times when it rests, that is, it secretes in pulses, with peaks and valleys. Scientists have found that not only does the secretion of growth hormone vary by age, but it also varies throughout the 24 hours of the day. Newborn babies, who sleep more than 20 hours a day, have a greater secretion of growth hormone during all 24 hours, and their blood concentration levels of growth hormone are relatively high. Starting from childhood, there is a peak of growth hormone secretion in the body only during sleep. After entering puberty, the secretion of growth hormone during sleep increases linearly, and after the age of 20, the secretion of growth hormone only gradually decreases. It can be seen that the secretion of growth hormone is most vigorous in the sleep state. Ensuring sufficient and high quality sleep can accumulate maximum energy to create the miracle of growth. In addition, the bed should be comfortable to stretch the spine and lower limb joints to ensure quality sleep, which is conducive to the growth of height.
What kind of impact does poor sleep quality have on children’s growth?
The quality of sleep has an important impact on the height of children. According to in vivo research, the secretion of growth hormone, the main hormone that promotes human height, is about three times higher in the sleep state than in the awake state. In clinical practice, it has been found that children who are easily woken up or often dream and have poor sleep quality tend to grow slower, for example, children with enuresis, who have to get up to urinate at night all the time, so severe sleep deprivation often results in serious growth disorders soon after the onset of the disease even without growth hormone deficiency. In addition sleep disturbances are often associated with physical discomfort or certain diseases, such as respiratory or digestive tract inflammation or parasitic diseases. Children’s brain development is still incomplete and they have not yet formed a regular schedule and sleep habits, which have a negative impact on the quality of their sleep. According to a foreign survey, watching TV or playing games for too long can lead to insomnia or sleep disturbances at night, and children can have tossing and turning, leg twitching, and even epileptic-like seizures while sleeping.
The pituitary gland secretes more growth hormone during deep sleep, so sleep for children is not simply a need for rest, but also a catalyst for physical development. It is important for children to have not only quantity but also quality sleep. By developing good sleep habits from an early age, children will benefit for the rest of their lives. Current clinicians generally believe that quality sleep allows the body and brain to be fully rested, ensures sufficient energy, good mental state and appetite, plus the muscles are fully relaxed during sleep, which facilitates the stretching of joints and bones, all of which are beneficial to children’s height increase.