Hoppekids Catalog 2020 - ENGLISH Version

THEME: SLEEP WELL!
THEME: SLEEP WELL!
THE EFFECT OF SLEEP
We don’t need to tell you how important sleep is. As a on less sleep than usual.
parent you have probably experienced periods of time
The cycle lasts between 90-110 minutes. The stages are
with an almost constant sleep deficiency and all the
the same for both children and adults, but the time spent
discomforts this will bring.
in each phase depends on your age.
But what happens in the body while we sleep? And why
Stage 1 – the light sleep
is sleep so important for us? Read this article to get the
Light sleep is a transition stage between being awake
answers!
and being asleep. In this stage, the body finds its peace
Why is it important to sleep?
and prepares itself for the cycle ahead. The muscles
If you wake up feeling rested and ready for a new day become more relaxed and the brain waves decrease in
your body and brain are better prepared for a day full activity. Sometimes, you might feel a muscle twitch. This
of experiences, decisions and challenges. The reason is entirely natural and probably occurs because the body
you feel this way is because the body has had time to do cannot always control the transition between flexing the
everything it needs to do during the night. While you are muscles and being relaxed.
sleeping the body is working on preparing you for the
The light sleep is the shortest stage and lasts between
next day.
5-10 minutes.
Sleep can be divided into four stages, which you will go
Stage 2 – the medium sleep
through during the night: The light sleep, the medium
This stage could be described as part two of stage 1 as
sleep, the deep sleep, and the REM sleep.
you are still experiencing light sleep and you are relatively
If you wake up feeling refreshed it means the body as been easy to wake up. The body relaxes even further. This
through all four stages more than once and preferably in can be seen on especially your brain waves that become
one coherent sleep. You cannot decide when to enter the slower and more gentle in their fluctuations. Eventually,
different stages but there is some great news for the tired you will lose contact with your consciousness. Adults
parents: When you are exhausted the body will utilize the usually spend half of their time asleep in this stage. For
stages more efficiently, which makes you able to survive children it is far less, but it increases as they age.
Stage 3 – the deep sleep
If you have ever been awoken from deep sleep you will
most likely recognize a feeling of being groggy and
confused. The brain can spend up to thirty minutes at
half power before it finally wakes up.
It is in the deep sleep where most things happen with
your body. The body will restore skin, hair, nails and cells,
improve your immune system, regulate your metabolism
and repair damages. Children also produce growth
hormones during the deep sleep, to ensure that the body
grows and develops.
It is also during this stage where you might pee in bed or
walk and talk in your sleep.
Stage 4 – REM sleep
The REM sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement, is the stage
where the brain repeats your experiences and the things
you learn. The brain is very active and will cut off the
signal to your muscles. The only movement is the eyes
moving back and forth behind your eye-lids. Children
experience REM sleep from when they are 6 months old.
During the REM sleep the brain will store all the things
you have learned and experienced during the day. It will
move everything from the short-term memory to the
long-term memory.
This is an important stage as it will help your child
experience a constant progress in the development of
motor-skills, establish relations to his/her surroundings,
recognize grandma and grandpa and much, much more.
We dream in this stage but we are also easy to wake up.
This is why you might find yourself waking up in the
middle of a dream.
Because the REM sleep is where we process our learnings,
it can explain children’s large need for sleep, as they have a
steep learning curve for various skills in a very short span
of time. An adult spend approximately 20-25 % of the
night in the REM stage, but sleeps far less than a child.
A child can spend up to 50% of the time asleep in the
REM stage.
The need for REM sleep decreases during the first year
but does not reach 25% until adulthood.
Sources: videnskab.dk, sundhedsplejersken.dk, sundhed.dk.
Your child’s need for sleep
Children have different needs for sleep depending
on their age. Especially during the first year the infant
will have a large need for sleep. These hours are only
guidance and cover both naps and nighttime.
Age
Hours needed
1-4 weeks 15-18 hours
1-12 months 14-15 hours
1-3 years 12-14 hours
3-6 years 10-12 hours
7-12 years 9-11 hours
Source: sundshedsplejersken.dk
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