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A study by researches at the University of Philadelphia has revealed that even children are suffering from lack of sleep and this may be harming their growth. The researchers at the University compared the sleep patterns in young children from Caucasian and Asian countries. Dr Jodi Mindell of St Josephs University in Philadelphia revealed that children from United States went to bed by 8.52 pm, while children in Asian countries were being sent to bed by 10 pm or later.
Children from India get 8 hours of sleep every night, while children from New Zealand slept for 10.5 hours a night. Dr. Mindell revealed that lesser duration of sleep hurts the growth of kids. Inadequate sleep affects the carbohydrate metabolism in children and caused impaired glucose tolerance. This impaired tolerance in turn affects the secretion of hormones that regulates fat storage. These developments will ultimately result in kids gaining weight. Lack of sleep will also mean less hormone secretion that can stunt growth. This is owing to the fact, that the growth hormone which is released by the pituitary gland is secreted during sleep. The study was presented on June 11 at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in Baltimore called Sleep 2008.
