Healthy sleep: how much sleep does a child need?

Recently, it has become very difficult to put the child to bed on time. Children almost never part with smartphones, tablets and computers, they are constantly carried away by a huge amount of entertainment. The blinking of these devices sends a signal to the brain that it is too early to sleep, and the baby continues to be active, instead of falling asleep and gaining strength for the next day.

Why is sleep so important for a child’s body? How long should children sleep? What can a lack of sleep lead to? You can find answers to these and other questions in our article. What is sleep? Sleep is a special form of the organism’s existence, no less complex than daytime wakefulness. During the correct course of sleep, the strength spent on daytime activities is restored.

That is why a healthy person wakes up with a feeling of freshness and vigor. The quality of our sleep is determined by a process called the sleep-wake cycle. It is divided into two phases: slow-wave sleep (also called deep sleep), during which the body relaxes, breathing becomes calmer, and the brain is less sensitive to external stimuli.

This phase is of great importance for the recovery of the body. the phase of REM sleep (also called the phase of “rapid eye movement”), during which the memories and thoughts of the current day are processed, and the person sees vivid dreams. The body temperature at this time rises, blood pressure rises, and the heart beats faster.