My family's Coco is about to turn four years old, and she has been in the Xi of napping every day since she was about five months old. Normally, I take her to rest at 12 noon every day, although sometimes she may be a little noisy or even noisy when she sleeps, but as long as she takes a good nap, she will be in a very good state in the afternoon.
Sometimes, for various reasons, we can't get her to nap on time. I found that if she missed a nap, or didn't have enough time to take a nap, she would wake up emotionally uncontrollable, crying and sometimes crying for a while.
I used to think that all the kids would take a nap at noon, until one time my best friend brought her son Junjun to my house to play. This little guy has a lot of energy, and with my daughter, sometimes playing with toys, sometimes tinkering with something, and sometimes reading a book together. Maybe it's because they have a little friend, both children are very excited. But after lunch, my Coco started to look a little tired, she muttered to me for a nap with her, and within 15 minutes, she fell asleep.
But Junjun is like a little rooster full of energy, full of energy. My friend wanted him to take a nap, but he just wouldn't. We tried to persuade him in every way, but he still ran around excitedly and didn't feel sleepy at all.
I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Junjun, don't you sleep at noon?" ”
Yes, my family never lets me sleep, no matter how tired I am. I didn't sleep when I went to kindergarten, and the other children were sleepy, so I was the only one playing, and the teacher was helpless. ”
How was your mental state in the afternoon? ”
It's good, I'm very excited to sleep or not, but fortunately I can get a good night's sleep and sleep until dawn. ”
I realized that some children may really not want to take a nap, and maybe it's really hard to force them to take a nap.
In fact, we all know that for most children, napping is very important for growth and development, and has far-reaching significance.
Napping is good for your child's physical development. According to a Cornell University study, an effective nap of about 30 minutes a day can balance hormone secretion in the body and reduce the onset of cardiovascular disease. During sleep, the child's brain is rested, fully relaxed, and promotes physical and mental health.
A child's nap is good for memory. A test in American schools found that after two hours of normal Xi study, children who did not nap only remembered 75% of the Xi content, while children who did not nap still maintained this ratio, while children who did not nap only remembered half of what they did. Especially for infants and toddlers, napping can help convert short-term memories into long-term experiences, improve daytime status, and prevent lethargy and decreased concentration.
According to the daughter's kindergarten class teacher, 30 of the 32 students had nap Xi, and only two could not sleep, resulting in exhaustion and lack of concentration in the afternoon.
Studies have shown that a 90-minute nap can help young children improve their memory, especially for word and language Xi. Napping allows the brain to be cushioned and rested, clear the mind and enhance memory.
Napping helps stabilize your child's mood. Experience has taught me that children tend to be irritable when they don't nap enough. Brain fatigue leads to the buildup of metabolites, which hinders blood circulation and affects mood and physical state.
Even adults can become irritable when their brains don't get enough rest.
The brain consumes nutrients and energy, but cannot be replenished in time, resulting in a decrease in brain cell vitality and confusion in the transmission of information. This can lead to a bias in the reception of information, which can easily lead to emotional loss of control and discomfort.
Napping is actually repairing the over-depleted brain and replenishing energy. Children may not be able to express, but when they feel tired but unwilling to sleep, they are actually struggling between physical exhaustion and their brain state, creating feelings of stress and tension, and their emotions can become unstable and irritable.
Not every child experiences this.
Some parents are worried that their children don't like naps, and no matter how much they coax them, will it affect their intelligence?
In fact, the situation is not absolute. This is because the total amount of sleep a child gets each day is fixed. For example, studies have shown that less than a third of most children still nap after the age of four.
As children get older, the need for naps during the day is decreasing. For some children, even if they don't want to nap, forcing them can have an impact on development.
Some parents are worried that their children often do not nap, will it affect their height?
It is true that sleep has an effect on the height of the child, but the most important thing is the secretion of growth hormone. The data shows that between 22 and 24 o'clock in the evening and around 6 o'clock in the morning is the time period when growth hormone is secreted in large quantities, and the nap time at 1 o'clock in the afternoon has very little growth hormone secretion.
There is no scientific evidence that not napping affects a child's height development.
Therefore, napping does not directly promote a child's physical development, and the claim that napping can make a child grow taller is not true. Guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine indicate that kindergarten children only need 10-13 hours of sleep per day, and elementary school students need even less, 9-11 hours. As long as your child's total sleep time is up to this standard, you don't have to worry too much about whether or not they're napping.
To sum up, napping is important and has many benefits for most children. However, it is not absolutely necessary for all children, and even not napping at noon will not affect their growth and development, as long as the child's overall sleep time is up to par.
So, for children who don't like napping, parents don't need to worry too much.
For most children, napping does have more benefits.
Some parents may worry that their child is always crying or having trouble falling asleep during naps, and envy children who can take quiet naps or sleep for a long time.
In fact, a child's nap time is not necessarily better. There is a lot of preparation to get your child to sleep soundly during naptime.
What about the optimal length of nap time? According to the American Sleep** Association, the best time to nap is between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. During this time, most people experience a decrease in alertness and performance, and a moderate nap can be effective in helping people regain their energy. However, if the nap is too long, it may affect the quality of your child's sleep at night, leading to late sleep or overexcitement. However, this also varies from person to person, and some children do not sleep at night even if they take a nap for 2-3 hours.
How to cultivate children's nap Xi?
Have a regular schedule, go to bed early and wake up early.
Make sure your child has a regular sleep schedule and doesn't stay out of bed in the morning. In my family, even on weekends, children should get up on time, go to bed at 9 p.m., and adhere to the Xi of going to bed early and waking up early.
Exercise releases energy.
If your child is athletic or outdoors a lot, morning activities can burn off some of your energy, so the quality of naps will be better.
Regulate the summer environment.
In the summer, pay attention to the temperature, especially if the child has a high body temperature. It's important to maintain a cool sleeping environment, turn on the air conditioner, and make sure the sleeping environment isn't too brightly lit.
Develop good sleep Xi.
My child has developed the Xi of napping every day because we have been letting her nap on time since we were young. We have a set bedtime routine, such as washing hands, drawing curtains, and telling stories, and over time, children Xi used to this process, and when it's time to go to bed, they naturally want to take a nap. Therefore, if you want your child to love napping, parents can start from the above aspects.