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optionT
12th January 2012, 10:47 PM
Toddlers who are denied regular afternoon naps grow up into grumpier and moodier adults, a study indiates.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02099/tod_2099554b.jpg

Researchers say missing naps 'taxes the way toddlers express different feelings'


Tired young children are unhappier, more stressed and at greater risk of lifelong mental health problems, the research claims.

Findings reveal that toddlers who miss just one daytime nap become more anxious and less interested in the world around them. They were also less excited by happy events and the slightest stress makes them crankier.

US researchers say this is because missing naps 'taxes the way toddlers express different feelings.' And long-term sleep deprivation could even lead to 'lifelong, mood-related problems,' they warn.

The team, from the University of Colorado Boulder measured the sleep patterns of toddlers aged two to three. Kids wore a special device which measured how much they slept, with their parents also keeping a sleep log.

Study author Professor Monique LeBourgeois filmed the toddlers' facial expressions as they completed two jigsaws on one day where they'd had their usual nap, and on another when they'd been deprived of it.

Results, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, showed that tired toddlers who successfully completed the first puzzle were a third [34 per cent] less positive in their emotional responses than when they'd been well-rested.

And on being given another deliberately unsolveable puzzle the team noticed tired toddlers were a third [31 per cent] more stressed by it than when they'd enjoyed their usual nap.

Toddlers who had missed out on a nap were also more than a third [39 per cent] less curious about the unsolveable puzzle than when they were well rested. Prof LeBourgeois warned that 'Confusion is not bad,' adding that it was necessary to help kids learn from their mistakes.

Prof LeBourgeois added: "Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their 'sleep tanks' are set to full each day.

"This study shows insufficient sleep in the form of missing a nap taxes the way toddlers express different feelings, and, over time, may shape their developing emotional brains and put them at risk for lifelong, mood-related problems."

"Just like good nutrition, adequate sleep is a basic need that gives children the best chance of getting what is most important from the people and things they experience each day."

Discussing the wider implications, she added: "When well-slept toddlers experience confusion, they are more likely to elicit help from others, which is a positive, adaptive response indicating they are cognitively engaged with their world."

"The non-adaptive emotional effects we saw in toddlers who missed a single nap make us wonder how young kids who consistently don't get enough sleep deal with their complicated social worlds.

"A sleepy child in a classroom or nursery environment may not be able to engage with others and benefit from positive interactions.

"Their coping skills decrease and they may be more prone to tantrums or frustration, which would affect how other children and adults interact with them.

"This study shows that missing even a single nap causes them to be less positive, more negative and have decreased cognitive engagement."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8991930/Toddlers-grow-up-grumpy-without-an-afternoon-nap.html

madfranks
13th January 2012, 07:43 AM
Anyone who's ever had a toddler knows they need an afternoon nap. Heck, when my daughter was a toddler if we didn't put her down for a nap she'd just fall asleep around that time on her own! Kids that young just can't make it through a whole day without more sleep.

BrewTech
13th January 2012, 07:56 AM
From a mental health standpoint, I like to think of sleeping as the time the brain does it's daily software updates, making meaning of all the input from the day. It would make sense to me that the process would be more robust in a young human, where a great amount of the input is new information, hence needing more sleep than an adult to processs and make meaningful sense of it all. This also may help to explain why older people can get by on less sleep and not suffer ill consequences.

Book
13th January 2012, 08:49 AM
...making meaning of all the input from the day....



Adults who wake up at 3am maybe should remain awake to analyze why they woke up at 3am. Insomnia might be a survival coping system for those who are in denial about impending danger.

:)

osoab
13th January 2012, 09:27 AM
Adults who wake up at 3am maybe should remain awake to analyze why they woke up at 3am. Insomnia might be a survival coping system for those who are in denial about impending danger.

:)


I don't think much when I wake up at 3 am to take a whizz.

letter_factory
13th January 2012, 09:34 AM
This is absurd. That nap time takes the place of time they need to be learning, getting a job, and paying taxes. Live for the state!