Children’s Pros And Cons

It is common for a child not to want to go to bed, as he sees sleep only as a nasty interruption to play or other fun. In Finland, it is common for children to fall asleep, but practices vary greatly from country to country and culture to culture. But what, according to experts, are the pros and cons of children’s naps?

The benefits of children’s naps

1. Recovery of lost energy

While this is a matter of course, it is worth remembering. The child is inherently energetic and often restless, but at some point in the day he also runs out of fuel.

The child consumes his energy by moving and playing, but also by thinking. Childhood is a time of cognitive learning, and learning requires energy. So the child needs to rest during the day as well, and the solution to this is a nap.

2. The child is in a better mood

The numerous benefits of daydreams definitely include the fact that the rested child is in a better mood. A short break will help the child reduce tension and anxiety.

The child who slept in daytime is also not overwhelmed in the evening, which is reflected in teasing and crying.

3. Improving memory and enhancing learning

As we sleep, there are complex neurological processes going on in our brains that are responsible for processing previously learned information.

In children, these processes are even more necessary and important than in adults. A child’s plastic brain is shaped by a number of factors, such as the environment and hereditary predispositions.

4. Improving performance

Because of the effects mentioned above, nap has an extremely positive effect on a child’s school success as well as sports activities and other activities.

In addition to having a brighter mind, a child has more energy and positivity to face different situations, and this equation is always a good thing!

Disadvantages of children’s naps

1. Consequences of excessive sleep

An excessive amount of anything does bad, and nap is no exception in this sense. Excessive daytime sleep has a negative effect on nighttime sleep and can cause sleep disorders such as insomnia and narcolepsy. Therefore, the duration of a child’s daytime sleep should be regulated.

2. Headaches

Headaches that begin during sleep are mainly an ailment in older people, but some children have an inherited predisposition to this ailment. The pain is usually moderate in intensity, but severe enough to interfere with a child’s sleep.

3. Risks for people with respiratory diseases

For example, people with COPD are banned from taking a nap. The reason is that muscle relaxation can impede normal breathing. This results in poor blood oxidation, persistent fatigue, and respiratory failure.

However, this is not a risk factor for all children, but only for certain situations.

Tips for putting a child to sleep

Here are some tips to help your child get used to sleeping:

• Don’t force: Forcing a child to sleep doesn’t benefit anyone. To get rest, the child must want to sleep on their own.

• Make sure the right kind of environment: If a child is sleeping at the same time as parents or other children in the family are commuting nearby, he or she will probably not be able to fall asleep or his or her sleep will be disturbed. It is therefore important to provide the child with a peaceful environment for sleeping.
• Make a nap a routine: As the saying goes, man is a slave to his habits. If a child adopts a lifestyle that involves taking a nap at a certain point in the day, it will be much easier to get him or her to agree to nap every day.

While the decision to take a child’s nap is a personal matter for each family, the most important thing is to ensure that the decision is based on the child’s well-being.