Many parents have the habit of turning on the night light when putting their children to bed without realizing these effects.
According to research, leaving the lights on too bright during sleep not only affects the quality of children's sleep but also poses many other risks to physical and mental development.
1. Causes difficulty sleeping, light sleep
Light can reduce the body's ability to produce melatonin - an important hormone that helps the body fall asleep easily. Therefore, children who sleep in a brightly lit environment are more likely to have difficulty falling asleep, sleep restlessly or wake up frequently in the middle of the night. Especially for infants, sleep plays an important role in brain and physical development, so sleep disturbances can have long-term effects.
2. Weakens the immune system
Few people know that sleeping in an environment with too much light can reduce a child's ability to produce antibodies against viruses. Meanwhile, if a child sleeps in complete darkness, the body will automatically stimulate the process of creating antibodies, helping the immune system work more effectively.
To ensure safety and convenience, parents can use a night light with soft light or only turn on the light when they need to take care of their baby at night.
3. Affects eyesight
Studies have shown that children from 2 years old who regularly sleep under electric light will have a risk of myopia of up to 34%. When they are older, this rate can increase to 55% if the habit of sleeping under light does not change.
The reason is that light affects the biological rhythm, causing the eyes to continuously adjust even while sleeping, increasing the risk of eye diseases.
4. Increased risk of obesity
Sleeping in a bright environment at night can disrupt your body clock, which can affect your metabolism and increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, or heart problems.
A study by Ohio University (USA) has shown that exposure to light while sleeping can change blood sugar levels and affect the body's energy balance.
5. Melatonin inhibition increases the risk of early puberty
Exposure to light at night can reduce melatonin production by 50% – a hormone that regulates circadian rhythms, supports the immune system and protects the body against many health problems.
Melatonin is also closely related to the development of the gonads. When this hormone is reduced, children are at risk of early puberty, affecting the body's natural development process.
What to do to improve sleep quality?
To help your child get quality sleep, it's best to create a quiet sleeping environment, avoid bright lights, and only use low-intensity night lights when absolutely necessary.
To help children sleep well and stay healthy, parents need to create an ideal sleeping environment by maintaining a quiet, dark and cool space.
Limit the use of night lights with strong light, instead you can choose the type of light with soft light, yellow or red to not affect the body's melatonin production process. At the same time, parents should set a scientific sleep schedule, help children go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, creating healthy sleep habits.
To ensure comfort, the child's bed needs to be clean, airy, the mattress and pillows need to be soft enough to support the body. In addition, the room temperature is also very important, it is best to maintain it at 24-26°C, avoiding cold air from the air conditioner blowing directly on the child.
In addition, parents need to control noise, avoid loud sounds from TV, phone or street, can use white noise machine to help children sleep easier. If children are easily startled or afraid of the dark, parents can place a familiar item such as teddy bear or soft blanket next to them to create a sense of security.
Before going to bed, children should not eat too much, especially foods containing sugar or caffeine. Instead, they can drink a glass of warm milk to help them fall asleep easily.
Maintaining an ideal sleeping environment not only helps children sleep more deeply but also supports their overall physical and mental development.
Thuy Linh (Synthesis)
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/bat-den-hay-tat-den-khi-di-ngu-se-tot-hon-cho-tre-nghien-cuu-khien-nhieu-nguoi-phai-thay-doi-suy-nghi-172250301080239101.htm
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