Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Many students are heading off to school this week fighting sleep because their biological clocks are still in disarray. Staying up all night and sleeping until noon was inseparable with the past Ramadan season and summer holidays for most families living in the Kingdom. It has become part of Saudi culture to stay up late, and many factors contribute to this and even encourage it, with shopping malls opened until 11pm, most restaurants still busy until 1:00 AM, and many supermarkets open 24 hours a day. The long summer has programmed children's bodies to stay awake and alert until late hours of the night, making it difficult for them to fall asleep and get the rest they need before the school day. Adults can function optimally with seven to eight hours of sleep at night, while seniors above the age of 65 can do well with only five to six hours of sleep. Infants and young children need up to 16 hours of sleep a day and older children need from eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. The key word health professionals stress repeatedly is night-sleep because it is far more health rejuvenating than sleep during the day. It will take some time to reset students' biological clocks to appropriate sleeping hours, and parents should be aware that sleep deprivation can cause serious problems if not corrected early on. "Sleeping in the dark hours of the night has a number of functions essential to physical, emotional, and mental health. "Adequate sleep, specifically at night, allows the body to produce the hormones that promote healthy growth and development of children's bodies and minds. It enables repair of any damaged tissue, regeneration of healthy cells, and quicker healing from wounds, illness, or injury," said Dr. Ayman B. Krayem, consultant physician in pulmonary disorders, critical care, and sleep medicine, and the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at King Abdul Aziz Medical City. "A good night's sleep of around nine hours for school aged children improves their mental clarity, attentiveness in the classroom, information retention, short-term memory, and learning abilities. "Studies have shown that adolescents who get enough sleep at night achieve higher grades in school than their sleep-deprived peers. In general, these kids do better academically and socially," added Dr. Krayem. According to Dr. Krayem, loss of sleep during the night-time hours has several negative effects on children's health which include mood swings, irritability, poor mental concentration, impaired short-term memory, inability to make sound decisions, and physical exhaustion. Studies have even linked lack of adequate and restful sleep at night to obesity among children and adults. A study conducted at University of Warwick in the United Kingdom which encompassed over 600,000 participants determined that the incidence of obesity among young children who sleepless than 10 hours a night was 89 percent higher than the incidence of obesity among young children who get 10 hours of sleep at night. The same study found that the rate of obesity among sleep deprived adults was 55 percent higher than the rate of obesity among adults who get more than five hours of sleep a night. There are several steps parents can take to rewire their children's biological clocks to help them return to the natural sleeping patterns that our human bodies were created to follow. Over the course of the first week of school, moms and dads can gradually bring the mandated, non-negotiable bedtime a little earlier each day until the ideal time is reached, which is typically between 8 and 9 pm. Setting a fixed routine each night helps younger children settle down and accept the inevitable (going to bed) with minimal fuss. A relaxing routine that works well for most families includes dinner and teeth brushing followed by a story read in bed, a soothing song, and recitation of short verses from the Qur'an or a supplication, and lots of cuddles. "Young children should avoid foods and beverages that contain caffeine, such as cola, tea, and chocolates. "No stimulating activities should be engaged in during the one or two hours prior to bedtime. Watching television or playing video games on the popular electronic technologies and computer games excite nerve cells in the brain, making it difficult for young children to fall asleep. "Day time naps should be eliminated so that the child will feel sleepy by the time night sets in. If parents are consistent, any sleep problems left over from the summer holidays will be solved in less than one week," Dr. Krayem told Saudi Gazette. For children or teens who are extremely tired when they return home from school, a short nap of exactly 30 minutes can be permitted, which Dr. Krayem calls a power nap because it is short enough to restore energy to the body but not long enough to interfere with peaceful sleep at night. "I object to referring to two to three hours of sleep in the afternoon as a nap. Any nap longer than half an hour is in fact recovery sleep, and if the child falls into this unhealthy habit, it will disrupt the natural biological clock and the child will regularly experience sleep problems at night," said Dr. Krayem.
