Is napping important to children?

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A good and deep sleep in the afternoon will bring a lot of benefits to the mind and health of children. Parents need to pay attention to ensure that their children have a good afternoon nap so that their children can develop in the best way right from the early stages.

1. The importance of naps for children

According to experts, afternoon nap plays an extremely important role for children. A good afternoon nap plays the same role as the proper replenishment of nutrients for the body. With the first years of life, the baby's brain and central nervous system are adjusted according to the sleep cycle, so parents need to train their children to have a scientific nap habit from the beginning.
Here are some benefits of napping for children:
Helps children improve memory: many studies have shown that napping plays a role in helping us focus, and at the same time strengthens the week. return blood to the brain faster. With the effect of enhancing memory, a nap in children on time, after meals helps children to remember better than other children. Therefore, parents should not ignore their children's naps if they want their children to have a good memory. Helps support better metabolism: Having a full afternoon nap not only contributes significantly to helping children's metabolism take place faster, but also creates conditions for children to grow in height, weight and health. Children who are not guaranteed a stable afternoon nap will affect their metabolism, the release of energy takes place slowly and the body has difficulty burning many calories, leading to poorer absorption of nutrients. Children strengthen their grasping ability: This is an extremely important skill in the first months of a baby's life. Children will improve their nervous system, develop touch and eliminate the risk of having Down syndrome with this skill. If children are napping, their grasping ability is guaranteed to develop faster. In addition, compared with children who do not get enough naps, children who take a nap can remember learned skills for a longer time. Help children develop their imaginations: A deep, full nap Enough with a cool, clean space plays a very important role in the health of children, especially other functional areas of the brain, while improving blood circulation. Many studies have shown that children will develop their creative abilities and have a transcendent imagination if they get enough naps in the afternoon. At this time, the information the baby learns will be quickly processed by the brain and connected with the child's imagination. Process information quickly: Children will develop coordination ability and know how to combine, string together different information, events and organize into memory from different times and different situations when children are napping. For children's brain development, naps play an extremely important role. To avoid sleep loss at night affecting children's health, parents need to train their children to have the habit of napping at the right time. Scientists found that compared to other children, those who had a habit of napping were often more focused and intelligent.
As children start kindergarten, napping becomes even more important. A good afternoon nap will help children focus more and not show signs of irritation or resistance to adults. The ability to concentrate is worse if the child's nap time is less.

2. How to help children get a good night's sleep

To help your child get a good and deep nap, you can do it in a few ways:
Determine the child's nap time: it is necessary to put the child to sleep when the child gives sleep signals such as yawning, Close your eyes, rub your eyes, cry... You need to pay attention and save the baby's sleep signals and time to know your baby's sleep cycle when he's not used to his baby's sleepy signs. If the child's nap time is clearly identified as well as the signs of sleepiness, the baby will have better quality sleep when the mother is better prepared. Teach your baby the habit of sleeping on his own: usually after feeding, the baby will fall asleep. Therefore, it will form a habit that the baby only sleeps after a full feed. Parents should create a habit for children to fall asleep on their own by separating sucking and sleeping with other activities such as reading to the child, putting the child down on the bed, etc. To help the child fall asleep on his own without time. Every mother must have a mother, she should not hold the baby to breastfeed or go around to comfort her. Balance the child's sleep time: The length of a child's nap as well as the child's sleep-wake cycle is different, so parents should not compare their child's sleep with other children. To get enough sleep, babies need daytime naps. Depending on habits, age...each child will have different sleep time. Babies sleep a lot during the day in infancy. As children get older, they will sleep more at night and less time during the day. Nighttime sleep will be longer by the time your baby is 6 months old. However, if your baby's sleep cycle is different from other babies, you shouldn't worry too much. Set bedtime for children: In order for children to go to bed at a fixed time every day, parents can set a schedule for their child's nap. Mothers can put babies to sleep in familiar positions such as cribs, cribs... in addition to letting children go to bed at a certain time of the day, so that when the mother puts the baby in that position, the child will understand it's time. go to sleep. Making a schedule for your child's sleep will help avoid the situation that even though he is very sleepy, he still tries to stay awake.

Put your baby to sleep in a safe position: so that your child can straighten his arms and legs and sleep well, and at the same time avoid unforeseen dangers, it is advisable to choose a safe and comfortable position such as a crib, crib, bed .. .. Let the baby sleep longer: mother and baby may be more tired when the baby sleeps and wakes up continuously or the nap is too short. You need to find a way to help your baby sleep longer, then gradually increase it to about 1 to 2 hours if the baby only naps for more than 20 minutes or less each time. When the baby is sleeping, don't wake him: when the baby is asleep, you should not wake him up. To help your baby sleep better, gently place him or her in the right place where they usually sleep or in a comfortable, comfortable place. Parents need to keep an eye on the baby when placing the baby to sleep temporarily in a certain position. Do not immediately comfort, but listen and observe the child if he cries, startled during sleep. Do not force your child to go to sleep: Do not force your child to sleep if he is not sleepy, has no need to sleep, or is on the road or it is not time to sleep. Because these naps will make the child feel more tired after waking up. Napping helps children improve their mood, mental and health, but should not let children nap too much because it will make them easy to lose sleep at night. In addition, mom can handle errands or rest during nap time.

3. Experts' perspectives on children's naps

Here are some experts' views on children's naps:
According to Jodi Mindell, a child psychologist and author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Babies, Toddlers Learn Go away and their parents can get a good night's sleep, says the associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, that children as young as 18 months old often skip naps. If possible, let your child nap in the same place he sleeps at night. A fixed nap time in a fixed place will ensure that children get the sleep they need. The best times for naps are mid to late morning for morning naps and early afternoon for afternoon naps. Don't let your child nap past 4pm, or he'll have a hard time sleeping at night. Make sure you have the right nap time. According to pediatrician Richard Ferber, founder of the Center for Children's Sleep Disorders at Boston Children's Hospital, children can give up their morning nap by age 2. Two daytime naps can reduce nighttime sleep. According to pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, author of the child development book Touchpoints, says that by the time your baby turns 18 months, no more than one nap per day should be recommended, usually between noon and 2. pm. Don't let your child sleep for more than 3 hours, or he will have a hard time going to sleep at night. According to William Sears - Pediatrician and his family are known advocates of gentle care methods to help young children settle down to sleep. By the age of 2, he says, most children stop napping but still need an afternoon break for an hour or two.

In order to prevent diseases that children often suffer from, in addition to children's sleep, parents also need to pay attention to nutrition to improve children's resistance. At the same time, add supporting foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins,... snacks and less digestive problems.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
The role of zinc - Guidelines for reasonable zinc supplementation
Please visit the website Vinmec.com regularly and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.

Reference source: babycenter.com