At school a lesson of sleep, because sleep well 'save' the health

MORE THAN fifteen days of the interruption of the daily routine with the alarm clock early in the morning to go to school have certainly disrupted the sleep-wake rhythm of children and young people allowed to go to bed later and saw that there were the christmas holidays. It will be tough to return to normal rates because the children of today suffering from insomnia and general sleep disturbances throughout the year. A problem that has had consequences quite serious both on academic performance and on the health of children. A contest for the schools According to the data of the Italian Society of preventive paediatrics and social paediatrics, 35-40% of school-age children are not sleeping enough, being under 9-10 hours per night that the National Sleep Foundation has shown that the ideals in the age range between 6 and 13 years. Data also confirmed by the epidemiological study done by the Italian Scientific Association for Research and Education in Sleep Medicine in collaboration with the Asl Roma F. From the research, it emerges that 47% of children in third grade (over 800 children) sleeping less than you need, the 10% has a problem to fall asleep, and 32% do not want to go to sleep in the evening. One of the main problems is that many children go to bed too late because they remain ‘connected’ to the social network late with the risk of insomnia and restless sleep. In view of the gravity of the situation and the lack of adequate information on the importance of sleep and its rules, Assirem, and the ministry of Education have signed already in 2018, a memorandum of understanding to take forward awareness-raising campaigns and information on the importance of sleep and on the healthy lifestyles among young people of school age. As “Sleeping... or am I awake...”, a competition for school-age children (from kindergarten to high school, now in its second edition. "Already last year," explains Innocent - in some schools of the Lazio region, in collaboration with the Asl Rome C, were carried out of the screening of the pupils of the primary school and secondary school of first instance, in order to detect the dissemination of the sleep disorders". For the school year 2019/20, the experts of the Assirem have scheduled meetings in the schools with students, teachers and families to inform on the need to respect the rhythms of sleep-wakefulness.

The campaign will be accompanied by a research on the sleeping habits of young students through the use of questionati anonymous. “This year, we are also proposing an educational path, through meetings with children, teachers and parents to understand that sleep is important and should not be considered lost time. Realize also of the webinar to be present in multiple schools at the same time”. To enter the competition, children will create a work group or individual in the form of a video clip, photo story, the artistic works of various kinds on the topic of sleep disorders. On the site of the ministry there are all the documents and regulations in order to participate. To submit jobs there is time until February 15, 2020.

lack of concentration and hyperactivity, little Sleep, and evil does not only mean to have more sleep in the morning and arrive in class and less attentive. In the long run, the lack of sleep has consequences rather series on children and teens. “If you don't sleep enough, " explains Pierluigi Innocenti , a neurologist and founder of the Italian Scientific Association for Research and Education in Sleep Medicine (Assirem) - the day after there is a deficit of concentration, memory and attention, which adversely affects educational performance. In addition, while an adult tends to be sleepy in the kids deprived of sleep, the opposite happens and they become hyperactive with the risk of developing the syndrome have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”. In fact, it is only during sleep that is produced growth hormone (Growth Hormone-GH), which is fundamental for the harmonious development of the child. Children with deprivation of sleep, in addition, they develop most frequently psychiatric disorders (anxiety, autism, depression).
sleep Disorders and overweight
children who sleep little also have a higher risk of developing metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity . “ The sleep continues, the Innocent - is one of the causes of the explosion of obesity in the industrialized countries. While we sleep we produce a hormone, leptin, which gives us the sense of satiety. If we do not sleep enough is the product of a hormone, ghrelin, that increases the sense of hunger and the preference of the foods rich in sugar, thus promoting obesity.”
Teenagers are always connected
And if as long as they are children of 7-8 years, the war to send them to bed regards the cartoons, when they grow up, the struggle becomes more difficult because you have to remove them from the Play Station and from the various devices that connect them to social networks. “This is a huge problem especially for teenagers,” warns the Innocent who adds: “We have consistently jet-lagged social often going to sleep at 3 in the morning and trying to recover from waking up later, especially in the week-end, but this collapses the circadian rhythm and it is as if they were always in conditions of jet lag”.

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