Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between napping and mental health in young children. An article published in Medical News Today June 11, 2009, “Discovery Of Relationship Between Napping, Hyperactivity, Depression And Anxiety In Young Children,” examines this issue. The article reports on a research abstract presented on Monday, June 8 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. The researchers studied, “….62 children between the ages of 4 and 5 who were classified as either napping (77 percent) or non-napping (23 percent) based on actigraphy data. Napping children napped an average of 3.4 days per week. Of the sample, 55 percent were white-non Hispanic and 53 percent were male. Caretakers reported their child's typical weekday and weekend bedtime/rise time, napping patterns, family demographics, and completed a behavioral assessment of the child. Actigraphy data for each child was collected continuously for seven to 14 days.” The results of this study were interesting. “..children between the ages of 4 and 5 who did not take daytime naps were reported by their parents to exhibit higher levels of hyperactivity, anxiety and depression than children who continued to nap at this age.” There are several important implications of this study. First, parents of young children show insure that their young children get adequate daily naps. Second, day care providers and preschool teachers should confer with parents of any child in their care that is showing signs hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression in order to insure that the child is getting adequate nap time. Third, mental health professionals who treat young children who are hyperactive, depressed, and anxious should screen for whether the child receivership adequate napping time during the day. Fourth, public health professionals should be more aggressive in educating parents of young children about the mental health risks of inadequate nap time. The researchers conclude that, “…there is a lot of individual variability in when children are ready to give up naps. I would encourage parents to include a quiet 'rest' time in their daily schedule that would allow children to nap if necessary."
The Bottom Line: The results of this study strongly suggest that inadequate nap time in young children puts them at risk for hyperactivity, depression, and anxiety.
Reference: Original article
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