Rise in number of children with sleep disorders

Category : General advice 9th March 2020


Inside Yoga 295 (9/3/2020)

This might be a departure from yoga news, but I felt this is an important issue which we, as adults, might be sleep walking into; a report in my Saturday newspaper said that hospitals have seen a doubling of cases of insomnia in children over the past seven years.

Experts have described the situation, such as an increase in cases of insomnia and other sleep disorders, as a hidden public health problem, putting it down to rising obesity levels, excessive use of social media before bedtime and a mental health crisis engulfing young people.

The report talks about the problems screen time is causing: Vicki Dawson, the founder of the NHS Doncaster-funded Children’s Sleep Charity, the only free specialist service that provides support to families for children’s sleep, said there was “a real lack of understanding around the impact that screens can have on sleep”.

Some research suggests the light from screens can suppress the sleep hormone melatonin.

Rachael Taylor, the founder of the Sleep Sanctuary, said the rise in admissions could be because of a range of factors, including the explosion and reliance on personal technology by teenagers and younger children.

“The blue light emitted from phone, tablet, computer and TV screens disrupts natural melatonin production, which inhibits sleep. I’m increasingly seeing more and more young children sent to bed with a screen to help them fall asleep, when it is in fact disrupting their sleep and making falling asleep more difficult,” she said.

This is a wake-up call for us all. Read the full article at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/06/sharp-rise-in-hospital-admissions-for-children-with-sleep-disorders-in-england

I have posted a few articles about sleep:

Sleepless nights due to sleep trackers: https://www.yogabristol.co.uk/2019/06/10/sleepless-nights-due-sleep-trackers/

All we need is sleep: https://www.yogabristol.co.uk/2019/02/25/all-we-need-is-sleep/

Any questions or comments contact me via the blog reply panel below or email gary@yogabristol.co.uk



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