To Help Children Sleep, Go Dark.

[elleng]

'Children’s eyes let in more light than adults’ eyes do.

You may think I am speaking metaphorically, perhaps about how open children are to the world and its beauties, or how easily their brains are shaped by what they see and hear. But it turns out that children’s eyes are anatomically slightly different, and they do let in more light, and a new study suggests that exposure to bright light before bedtime can throw their body clocks out of whack.

In an article published this week in the journal Physiological Reports, researchers report on an experiment in which they measured levels of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep, in a group of 10 children, ages 3 to 5. First they had the children follow a regular sleep schedule for five days, and checked their saliva several times a day to measure their baseline levels of melatonin. Then, on day six, they turned children’s homes into low-light “caves,” covering the windows with black plastic and swapping in low-wattage light bulbs.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/well/family/children-sleep-light-melatonin.html?

[hlthe2b]

1. Not disagreeing, but nothing beats letting them sleep with their beloved dog or cat

despite the predictable quarterly hysterical clickbait articles (largely unsourced) citing the horrific risk from sleeping with pets...

Some may get by with their teddy bear, but if they have a special relationship to a pet, let em sleep together!