Short stature can actually be caused by lack of sleep, you know!

Maybe you've heard that lack of sleep can make someone fat. Or, lack of sleep can cause health problems. This is true, but did you know that lack of sleep can also cause children to have short stature? Actually, what is the relationship between lack of sleep and a short stature?

Children have a short stature, it could be due to lack of sleep

How long does the child sleep in one day? If you pay less attention to it, it could be that your child is not growing optimally. Because, less sleep duration can cause children to have a short body.

This has been proven in several studies, one of which was published in the journal Neuroendocrinology in 2011. This research has proven that children who are sleep deprived tend to have a shorter height than children their age.

In this study, it was found that children who were sleep deprived had lower levels of growth hormone than children who got enough sleep. This is then considered the main cause of sleep-deprived children who tend to have short stature.

How lack of sleep can cause children to have a short stature?

During sleep, the body continues to carry out its functions, including producing hormones. These hormones that are released by the body, keep all the functions of your organs normal until now. One of the hormones produced is growth hormone which affects a person's height.

So, growth hormone will be produced at one stage of the sleep cycle. Yes, there are two sleep cycles, namely rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM). When a person dreams, it is a sign that he is entering the REM stage.

Meanwhile, the NREM stage occurs at 75% of your sleep time. And at that time, the body performs various tasks, one of which is producing growth hormone. So, children who skip sleep, their body will not produce growth hormone and eventually the little one has a short body.

This does not apply to adults because this hormone will slowly decrease. However, experts state that this growth hormone is still needed by adults, because it indirectly affects the immune system.

Then, how long is the ideal sleep time for children?

The ideal sleep duration for each child is different, depending on the age group. If you have a newborn, it will need at least 18 hours per day to sleep. Meanwhile, toddlers need 10-13 hours per day. For school-aged children and teenagers, they need 8-11 hours of sleep per day.

Even though you have met the ideal sleep duration, it does not mean that your child can certainly grow to its full potential. It also depends on the lifestyle that you apply to your little one. You can provide foods that contain high calcium, zinc and protein so that your little one's growth runs normally and well. In addition, exercising regularly can also stimulate children's growth more optimally.