Active Kids = Better Sleepers

Who would have guessed?

A recently published study (Nixon et al. 2009) has confirmed what we moms already know…active kids sleep better.

Participants in this study included nearly 600 seven-year-olds. The major study findings were:

- Most children took about 26 minutes to fall asleep after bedtime

- More active children fell asleep faster and slept better

- One hour of vigorous activity per day decreased the time to fall asleep by almost 6 minutes

- Sedentary kids had more difficulty falling asleep after going to bed

- One hour of sedentary activities per day increased the time to fall asleep by 3 minutes

Reference: Nixon et al. (2009). Arch Dis Child, 94(9):686-9.

For more information about kids and sleep, check out these online resources:

KidsHealth.org — All About Sleep

National Sleep Foundation — Children and Sleep

Sleep for Kids.org

Wishing you and your children a good night’s sleep!