Sleeping in because of corona:do you or don't you let your children sleep in during this period and is that harmful to the sleep rhythm? At least opinions are divided about this at our house, you understand that 😉 .
Due to the corona crisis, many students are now at home. They work at home on their schoolwork, if they have anything to do at all, but are in a completely different rhythm than usual. On a normal school day, my children would be on their way to school on time (except for Luc, who often has some breaks or could start later). That means that I also pay some attention to the time that they normally go to bed. But that's a bit different now. Because the children can sleep in, they also believe that they can go to bed later.
Going to bed and getting up at regular intervals is generally good for your sleep schedule. However, sitting at home seems to have a negative effect:many students sleep in. Sometimes until mid-morning, according to the media. Does sleeping in for a long time affect our sleep rhythm? I received a press release explaining a few things, interesting!
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In principle, sleeping in is not directly harmful. Sleeping in at the weekend or sleeping longer because you are not completely fit is no problem at all. But those who sleep more than nine hours a day and don't feel rested can experience health problems.
Normally, healthy adults need about eight hours of sleep per night. The average is somewhere between seven and eight hours of sleep per day. What the right amount is is personal. Some people feel more rested after seven hours of sleep than after eight hours of sleep. Others need a little longer. Sleeping more than nine hours a day, according to sleep experts, is excessively long. However, this is only harmful when it comes to sleeping more than an average of nine hours per day, for a longer period.
Sleep is very important of course, not only to relax physically, but also for our brains. The brain removes waste products, balances neurotransmitters and processes memories during sleep. It therefore often happens that you dream about something that you have experienced. Processing you have been through.
Researchers have examined whether different sleeping habits are linked to physical and mental well-being. It turns out that sleeping too much can be linked to a variety of conditions. For example, depression and other illnesses occur. Although several websites claim that sleeping too much or too long would have serious harmful effects, such as a higher risk of death or developing chronic diseases, no evidence was found, according to a 2014 study. The researchers wanted to know whether obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are caused by sleeping in. It is a known fact that these problems are caused by sleeping too little, but sleeping too long doesn't seem to be the case.
The 2014 study does lead to a different discussion:sleeping too much can cause psychological problems, such as depression. People who sleep too much also have an increased risk of a higher BMI. There are no chronic medical conditions associated with it. In addition, short and long sleepers gain more kilos on average than people with a normal sleep rhythm. Over a period of six years, short and long sleepers gained an average of between 1.5 and 2 kilos. In fact, people who slept more than nine hours a night for a longer period of time were 21 percent more likely to be obese. Oops.
Research by Lumosity shows that sleeping too long also affects cognitive ability. The platform conducted a survey with various games. Respondents who slept 7 hours a night had the best results. They were able to perform and solve the games and issues quickly and accurately. This applies to all age groups studied. The idea that more sleep is better for health is therefore not necessarily true. So don't sleep in either. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not going to tell my kids that… they won't want to go to bed at all!
The researchers concluded that too little sleep does indeed result in poorer cognitive performance power, but that sleeping too much has an equivalent effect. Sleeping 10 hours a night is equivalent to 5 hours of sleep, according to the researchers. The same results were achieved. Sleep seven hours seems to be the magic number. But does this mean everyone has to sleep for seven hours?
According to the researchers, it is not the case that everyone should sleep for seven hours. Every person is different and needs their own amount of sleep. However, the researchers say:seven hours of sleep a night ensures that a person can think better, is sharper and more mentally present. Those who get the right amount of sleep every day have a greater chance that they will feel positive during the day.
Healthy sleep is necessary for the body and mind to relax. During sleep we allow our brain and the rest of our body to recover. On average, it takes about fifteen minutes to fall asleep. With a healthy sleep, a person hardly wakes up in between.
We speak of healthy sleep when people sleep through the night effectively. You need about four to five hours of deep sleep and REM sleep, so you don't need to sleep in for that. That is essential for a good night's sleep. In addition, it is important that breathing and heart rhythm are regular and show no abnormalities. With a good sleep, the body does not make restless movements and the body temperature is lowest in the morning.
Even in times of corona, which are full of irregularities, it is important to maintain a regular sleep rhythm. That means it's important to go to bed around the same time every night and get up at a set time in the morning without sleeping in. The weekend is actually no exception.
Although it is tempting to consume enough coffee, tea, chocolate, cigarettes and alcohol while sitting at home, this is strongly discouraged. Especially because of the use of alcohol, people sleep more restlessly. Sufficient exercise is required to become sufficiently tired, preferably not just before going to bed.
A fresh, clean bedroom can help you sleep. Therefore ensure continuous ventilation. When you sleep you inhale oxygen and CO2 is released when you exhale. That is why it is good to provide fresh air in the bedroom. Open your window! And, sleeping separately from your partner can also help…
Are you or your children worrying more during this time? Then the tips below may help you if you can't sleep:
