Lane专栏｜宝宝变聪明？请多睡一会儿

How Sleep Affects Brain Development

When my husband and I chose to raise our daughter in China, there were certain cultural differences that we expected. These obvious differences included food (we started to introduce slightly spicy foods at the age of 1), clothing (our daughter runs around without socks on a regular basis), and animals and baby in the home together (Americans have no problem with the dog + baby combination).

多年以前，当我和丈夫决定带着孩子在中国生活的时候，我就预感到会有一些文化差异。比如说吃的东西－我们在小朋友1岁的时候就带着她吃微辣的东西；比如说穿衣服－小女儿经常光着脚丫满地跑；再比如说养宠物－在美国这是很普遍的。

While we were prepared for many things, there were a few surprises. One such surprise has been the amount of sleep our daughter gets compared to the sleep patterns of children in many Chinese households. At two years old, Stella goes to bed every night at 8:00 and wakes up at 7:30. She naps for one to two hours in the afternoon whichis a total of 12.5-14 hours of sleep per day.

当我们自认为准备妥当的时候，有些差异还是令我们小小吃惊一下。比如睡眠问题－我们对比了中美孩子的睡眠不同哦。Stella两岁开始每晚8:00就上床睡觉早上7:30醒来，加上午睡的一到两小时，这孩子每天要睡饱12.5-14小时呢！

Cultural differences aside, how much does the amount of sleep a child gets every night affect how their brain develops? 先不谈文化差异，保证一个孩子智力正常发育每天究竟需要多少小时睡眠呢？

Many studies have been done on children and sleep. The American National Sleep Foundation warns parents about the importance of sleep for children because it directly affects their cognitive development. According tothe National Sleep Foundation, poor sleeping habits in school-age children may result in hyperactivity and poor academic performance.

很多科学家都研究过孩子成长和睡眠的关系。美国国家睡眠基金会就提醒过父母－睡眠对于孩子至关重要因为它会直接影响孩子的认知发展。根据国家基金会的说法，学龄儿童睡眠不足会导致多动和学习效率低下。

In fact, a study done by the University of Nebraska showed that restricting sleep to even one hour less than the daily recommended allowance for only one week resulted in lower performance on neuropsychological tests. At the end of the week, children performed a task that is predictive of later language development. Significant differences were found in five different brain areas, with sleep-restricted children showing slower responses.

事实上，根据内布拉斯加大学一份研究表明，一周如果每天都少睡一小时，也会导致孩子在神经心理学测试表现不佳。一周结束后，然这些孩子去完成语言发展能力测试，睡眠良好和睡眠不足的孩子在大脑五个不同功能区有着天壤之别！表现之一就是睡眠不足的孩子反应会变得很慢哦。

"Early child development has profound influences on health and well-being across the life course," says Amanda Sacker,professor at University College London. "Therefore, reduced or disrupted sleep -- especially if it occurs at key times in development -- could haveimportant impacts on health throughout life."

伦敦大学学院教授Amanda Sacker表示：“儿童早期的发展对今后的身心健康至关重要。因此，睡眠不足或者睡眠质量低下（特别是在儿童关键发育阶段）对孩子一生的健康都会有损害。”

Research also shows that poor or inadequate sleep can lead to behavioral problems such as mood swings, lack of focus, ADHD, and obesity.

研究还表明：睡眠不足会导致行为问题－比如情绪波动，注意力不集中，小儿多动症还有肥胖。

Now that we know what a huge effect sleep has on cognitive, emotional, and physical development,how much sleep should a child get at each stage of their life?了解了睡眠对于认知、情绪还有身体健康的重要影响之后，现在来讨论一下每个成长阶段孩子都分别需要多少睡眠呢？

According to the National Sleep Foundation, children of different ages fall into different sleep categories, with younger children needing more sleep than older children.

根据国家睡眠基金会研究，不同年龄段孩子所需睡眠量有所不同，总体说来，越小的孩子需要的睡眠越多。

Newborns(1-2 months)- 10.5-18 hours a day at irregular intervals

1－2月的新生儿每天累计需要10.5-18小时睡眠

Infants(3-11 months)- 9-12 hours per night, 30 minute -2 hour napstwo to four times per day

3-11月的婴儿每晚需要9-12小时＋白天2-4次2小时的小睡

Toddlers(1-3 years)- 12-14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period

1到3岁的孩子每天需要12-14小时

Preschoolers(3-5 years)- 11-14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period

3-5岁的学前儿童每天需要11-14小时

School-agedChildren (5-12 years)- 10-11 hours of sleep per night

5-12岁学龄儿童每晚需要10-11小时睡眠

Teenagers(13-18 years)- 8-9 hours of sleep per night

13-18岁的青少年每晚需要8-9小时哦

My child isn’tgetting enough sleep! How can I set up a new bedtime routine?

我的宝贝睡眠不足！我该怎么帮助他形成良好的睡眠习惯？？

Consistency is key. Research also shows that a consistent bedtime and bedtime routine help children fall asleep and wake up more easily.Children are very smart little people- if the whole family is not consistent with the new bedtime and routine, your child will undoubtedly find a way to delay bedtime.

坚持是关键哦！研究也表明把睡觉时间固定下来养成习惯会帮助孩子更好入睡更轻松醒过来。孩子是聪明的“小坏蛋”－如果你不坚持督促他们睡觉时间，毫无疑问，他们会延迟睡觉时间的。

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