Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
130
Unappreciated Power of Early Bedtimes (#3)
May 8, 2023

Found in age groups

Related Parents' Reports

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night's Sleep

Buy now

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
Chapter 1 (only 16 pages!) outlines everything you need to know about your child's sleep.

Buy now

Introduction

A Healthy Child Needs a Healthy Brain, A Healthy Brain Needs Healthy Sleep

If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.

Blog 130Unappreciated Power of Early Bedtimes (#3)

A 2022 report studied sleep, depression, and brain development in children at about 4.5, 10, 12, 13, 17, and 19 years of age. They measured the volume of gray matter of the brain (representing the concentration of the cell bodies of the nerves in the brain). There was an “interaction between bedtime and preschool depression severity, indicating that children with the earliest bedtimes and the lowest levels of depression showed the largest gray matter volume.” The authors correctly did not discuss this further because, in the context of multiple comparisons, the association did not reach statistical significance. However, the ‘bedtime’ was statistically significantly correlated with ‘sleep regularity’ and ‘total sleep duration (hours)’ such that children with early bedtimes had more sleep regularity and longer sleep durations.

I asked the lead author: Given the correlations between ‘bedtime’ and ‘sleep regularity’ and ‘total sleep hours’, how do you view the clinical importance of early as opposed to late bedtimes?

She responded: “Although not statistically significant, our findings indicated that children with earlier bedtimes and no depression symptoms showed larger total gray matter volumes across childhood and adolescence than children with late bedtimes (with or without depression symptoms). I think these results generally underscore the importance of early bedtimes in young children. We know exposures/experiences in early childhood can have a long term effects on neurodevelopment, and late bedtimes may be one pathway through which maladaptive neurodevelopment trajectories emerge.

For more information and sleep advice for children:

Blog Post 75 discusses how more sleep produces better mental health.

Blog post 123 reviews the benefits of early bedtimes.

Blog Post 127 summarizes the benefits from healthy sleep.

Add comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related blogs

These blogs are related or mentioned in this blog.
75
Blog 75
  | April 18, 2022
 | No Comments

More Sleep, Fewer Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) “include poor social interaction, abnormal cognitive functioning, delayed school readiness and problems in later childhood, and persistent mental health problems and obesity in adulthood.”
Read full post
109
Blog 109
  | December 12, 2022
 | 42 Comments

Unappreciated Power of an Early Bedtime

Published studies have shown that the more often that a bedtime routine is practiced, the longer the child sleeps at night.
Read full post
123
Blog 123
  | March 20, 2023
 | 7 Comments

Bedtime: A Review

To better understand the importance of sleep timing (when your child falls asleep), appreciate the fact that there is a genetically controlled and automatic circadian sleep rhythm (Blog Post 112). This 24-hour rhythm of brain output is for sleep and wakefulness; it develops in infancy, and changes as the child develops.  Parents cannot change this rhythm.
Read full post
127
Blog 127
  | April 17, 2023
 | No Comments

Benefits of Healthy Sleep: A Summary.

Blog Posts 1-5 describe what constitutes healthy sleep and explain in detail the benefits of sleep for your child. They are based on Chapter 11, titled “Sleep Readiness”, in the United States of America Department of the Army field manual (FM 7-22). This official Army document describes what is healthy sleep and what are the benefits of sleep. 
Read full post
129
Blog 129
  | May 1, 2023
 | No Comments

Unappreciated Power of Early Bedtimes (#2)

The 4 sleep variables that they studied individually were: Bedtime 1. Night time sleep hours 2. Night awakening frequency (how often the child awakens at night) 3. Sleep onset latency (how long it takes to fall asleep) 4. Sleep onset latency (how long it takes to fall asleep)
Read full post

Stay updated with new blog posts

Get access to free lullabies when signing up!
Get notified when new blogs are posted
Loading
Notify me
About Marc
The first month
The second month
Months 3-4
Months 4-12
magnifiercrossarrow-left
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram