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Sleep Deprivation Common in U.S. Children: Report October 23, 2002 10:34 AM ET BOSTON (Reuters Health) - US
children and adolescents are sleep-deprived and it's affecting their performance
in and out of school, according to findings to be presented here Wednesday at
the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This lack of adequate sleep
could have potentially serious long-term health consequences, according to Dr.
Carl E. Hunt, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research at the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. "Chronic lack of sleep is
a major health problem in children as it is in adults," Hunt told Reuters
Health. "Evidence shows that elementary-age children need at least 9 hours
of sleep per night to be well rested and many of them aren't getting it,"
he said. To help educate parents,
physicians and children about the importance of sleep, the AAP is partnering
with NHLBI on a national public awareness campaign called the "Sleep Well.
Do Well. Star Sleeper Campaign."
"It is an awareness
issue. We all know that diet and exercise are important to health but what is
not generally appreciated is that sleep is just as important," Hunt said.
"The most common sleep problem in kids is not sleep disorders but simply
not getting enough sleep on a regular basis."
The price children pay for
sleep deprivation can be high, Hunt said.
"Lack of enough sleep on
a regular basis can impair school performance, learning and memory, mood,
behavior and it can even have health consequences related to blood
pressure," Hunt said. "There are even some disturbing data now that
children with sleep apnea, which is not uncommon in children, don't do as well
in school as children who don't have sleep apnea."
A major goal of the campaign
is to shape children's attitudes about sleep before they become teenagers to
prevent drowsy driving accidents. |