How Can Not Getting Enough Sleep Affect a Kid's Coordination?

Sleep affects a host of skills that kids̵7; bodies need to function well. Concentration, memory, learning and the ability to handle stress and control behavior are just some of the mental faculties in which sleep plays a vital role. A lack of sleep also affects physical coordination. Without enough sleep, your child̵7;s ability to remember and successfully accomplish actions requiring physical coordination decreases dramatically.

  1. Motor Skills

    • Your child's motor skills can improve by about 20 percent when he is able to stay in bed late enough to get the late stages of sleep, according to PsychologyToday.com. Between the sixth and eighth hours of sleep, his brain conserves and maintains the motor skills that he has been practicing, according to Tesh.com. The university health center at the University of Georgia also notes that physical coordination decreases with little sleep. In addition, staying awake for a full 24 hours or seven days of sleeping just four or five hours a night creates physical impairment in an adult equivalent to that of a person with a 0.1 blood alcohol level, states the Harvard Business Review. So, if your kid has been practicing his baseball swing for the last few games, getting enough sleep helps his body remember the precise position and movements of a good swing that will connect with a pitch.

    Reaction Times

    • Decreased reaction time is another effect of not getting enough sleep. Kids who lack sleep risk not being able to respond fast enough to situations in which they must react quickly. For example, teenagers who drive and who respond too slowly to a vehicle ahead of them that stops suddenly are likely to have an accident. Likewise, reaction time in athletics is important to being able to quickly and successfully execute a particular move. Physical coordination goes hand in hand with reaction time, and without enough sleep, and at less than peak condition in either area, children will not be able to operate at their best.

    How Much Sleep?

    • Toddlers need between 12 and 14 hours of sleep. Your preschooler should get between 11 and 13 hours every day. Elementary students require between 10 to 11 hours, and teens need at least nine hours, says Karen Eble, a certified parenting educator writing for the Center for Parenting Education. The number of hours of sleep your child needs also includes naps.

    Getting Enough

    • To help ensure your child gets enough sleep, get her up every day at the same time, even if she was up late. It̵7;s better to go to bed early or have a longer nap than to sleep too late. An unrushed and healthy breakfast can also improve sleep. Cut down on activities if they cause too much stress. Encourage your child to exercise during the day, but not right before bedtime. Don̵7;t allow her to fall asleep in front of the television. Children who do so tend to wake up more and do not sleep deeply. Follow the same bedtime routine every day, and put her to bed at the same time each night.

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