Sleep and health among children

Not enough sleep can harm in several ways to the health of a child. This may weaken its ability to manage the stress and expose more to diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. The loss of sleep can affect the normal development of a child and its hormonal balance.

It has been proven that the fact of not  sleeping enough is linked to the development of obesity among children in Quebec. The children whose parents have weight problems have a much higher risk of having one also. This can be due to genetics or the fact of having adopted bad eating habits of their parents. As the food habits, habits relating to sleep are closely related to the family lifestyle, and it has been demonstrated that many children are sleeping less than they need. This is important because a sleep time too short product of hormonal changes comparable to those associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and hypertension.