Sleep in children

For children, sleep isn't a luxury but time for growing, learning and metabolism – and an often underestimated factor in a healthy weight. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends 11 to 14 hours for one- to two-year-olds, 10 to 13 for three- to five-year-olds, 9 to 12 for six- to twelve-year-olds and 8 to 10 hours for teenagers, per 24 hours. Many school-age children, and especially many teenagers, sleep less on school days.

The link with weight has been well researched: in reviews, children who consistently get too little sleep have a significantly higher risk of overweight – depending on the analysis, roughly one and a half to almost two times as high. The mechanisms are known mainly from studies in adults: lack of sleep can lower the satiety hormone leptin, raise the hunger hormone ghrelin, increase the appetite for sweet and fatty foods and drain the energy for exercise during the day.

On top of that, there's growth hormone, which is released mainly during deep sleep in the first half of the night. Children who regularly go to bed too late cut exactly this phase short.

What helps children sleep: a fixed bedtime, at weekends too (varying by about an hour at most), a bedtime routine that's always the same, screens off at least an hour beforehand and kept out of the bedroom, a dark, cool room, no caffeinated drinks such as cola or iced tea in the afternoon (energy drinks aren't suitable for children anyway) and outdoor activity during the day – daylight sets the body clock.

In teenagers, puberty biologically shifts the body clock later; they get tired later and find it harder to wake up in the morning. Understanding instead of blame, fixed wake-up times and light in the morning help more than arguments. Regular loud snoring, pauses in breathing or constant daytime tiredness are a matter for the paediatrician.