Less than 9 hours of sleep? Less gray matter may develop in your baby’s brain

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These variations were associated with more serious mental health problems, such as sadness, anxiety, and impulsive behavior, in people who did not get enough sleep. According to the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal, sleep deprivation has also been linked to problems with memory, problem-solving and decision-making.

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To promote optimal health, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends children ages 6 to 12 get 9 to 12 hours of sleep per night on a regular basis. No research has looked at the long-term effects of insufficient sleep on the neurocognitive development of pre-adolescents.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study involved more than 8,300 children between the ages of 9 and 10 who provided data to researchers. They looked at MRI scans, medical records and surveys that participants and their parents had filled out both when they first signed up for the study and at two-year check-ups between the ages of 11 and 12. The ABCD research, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the largest long-term investigation into child health and brain development in the US.

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“We found that children who had insufficient sleep at the start of the study, less than nine hours per night, had less gray matter, or smaller amounts, in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory and inhibition control than those with healthy sleep. Habits,” said study’s corresponding author Xie Wang, PhD, professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at UMSOM. “These differences persisted after two years, a related finding that suggests long-term harm for people who don’t get enough sleep.”

This is one of the first studies to show the potential long-term effects of sleep deprivation on the neurocognitive development of young children. Additionally, it provides strong support for existing guidelines for children’s sleep, according to Dr. Wang and colleagues.

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In a follow-up assessment, the research team found that participants in the adequate sleep group gradually got less sleep over the age of two, which is normal as children move into their teens, while participants in the insufficient sleep group had changes in their sleep patterns. didn `t come. excess. The researchers controlled for socioeconomic status, gender, pubertal status, and other factors that can affect how much a child sleeps and affect brain and cognition.

“We tried to match the two groups as closely as possible to help us fully understand the long-term effect of too little sleep on the pre-adolescent brain,” said Dr. Wang. “Additional studies are needed to confirm our finding and to see if any interventions can improve sleep habits and reverse neurological deficits.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to promote good sleep habits in their children. Her tips include making adequate sleep a family priority, sticking to a regular sleep routine, encouraging physical activity during the day, limiting screen time, and completely eliminating screens an hour before bed.

The study was funded by the NIH. Fan Nils Yang, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Wang’s laboratory, is a study co-author. Weizen Xie, PhD, a researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is also a study co-author. UMSOM faculty members Thomas Ernst, PhD, and Linda Chang, MD, MS, are co-principal investigators of the ABCD study at the Baltimore site but were not involved in the data analysis for this new study.

“This is an important study that indicates the importance of conducting long-term studies on the developing child’s brain,” said E. Albert Rees, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of medical affairs, UM Baltimore and John. Jade and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Sleep can often be overlooked during busy childhood days filled with homework and extra-curricular activities. Now we see how detrimental it can be to a child’s development.”

(with ANI inputs)

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