Children’s Sleep Patterns and Weight Gain by fitness Instructor Julie Gustafson

It is no secret that America is launching a fierce battle on the obesity of our youth.

I applaud all measures of removing soda machines from schools and a standing ovation to McDonald’s for creating what I think is a more respectable kids menu.

I think adults should order a Happy Meal and recognize that chicken McNuggets and apple dippers are not only a better option nutritionally but a better portion size.

I feel, however, that the problem is contained more on the home front where the initial education begins. The overwhelming amount of research that is driving this phenomenon is readily available to parents and should be research that all of us take a look at. Whether we are choosing to be parents or not, or our kids are grown, these studies and conclusions could be insightful to our own well being and weight maintenance.

A study completed recently at Northwestern University concluded that children who did not get enough sleep were more likely to be overweight. The researchers watched 2, 281 kids over a 5 year time period and recorded the number of hours they slept, what time they went to bed, what time they woke up, and their heights and weights. What was discovered was the children who got less sleep had higher body mass indexes and were more overweight than those kids who got the recommended amounts of sleep. The researchers left out the societal factors of race, ethnicity, and the income level’s of the households. It was solely based on sleep patterns. The study did not draw any conclusions about why the children who did not sleep as long but the possible explanations are enlightening. Not getting enough sleep has been found to influence the hormones that control appetite and adding an extra hour to the evening is adding an extra hour to eat. When children get tired they also verge on lethargy making it harder to get them to exercise.

As I was investigating more information on this study I am inclined to believe that if this study were conducted on 2, 281 adults over a 5 year period, the results would be parallel. As a fitness trainer, I see time and time again the clients that are successful in creating a healthy exercise habit and are successful in reaching the weight goals are the clients who keep a schedule.

To contribute to my own investigation, I began asking my clients how much they slept, whether they ate at the same time each day, and what their bedtime routine was. Unsurprisingly, the clients who rarely called in sick to cancel and who had achieved their weight goals with me were the clients that regularly got 8 to 9 hours of sleep. They also went to bed at around the same time each night and they had set bedtimes for their children.

If parents are in control of their children’s bedtimes, they can directly help their child not only stay alert and do better in school, but increase the chance of their child not being overweight by a third..

It is also my own observation of training 40 plus clients per week, that the well rested ones are able to handle stress, are more focused in the workouts, and are the clients that bring with them a sense of happiness and joy.