UAE children need to get more sleep, doctors warn

School performance, cognitive function, memory and a child's growth can be affected by sleep deprivation.

BU DHABI // Parents allowing their children to stay up until all hours do not realise the damage it may be having on their development, child health experts say.

Sleep deprivation in the young can harm learning ability, memory and even the child's growth, they say. It also leads to greater risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Most experts agree a child needs at least eight hours a night – an amount all too many in the UAE are not getting.

"Maybe it's just habit or the family education here," said Dr Maha Darwich, a paediatrician at Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Centre in Dubai. "For many families it doesn't matter what time the child goes to bed.

"Whether it's tradition, I don't know. I find this in so many families here, of lots of nationalities.

"We should educate the parents on this point and educate the children in schools."

Lack of sleep can affect the growth of children between the ages of 1 and 4, and in those aged 7 to 12, it can lead to an increased rate of obesity when they are teenagers, Dr Darwich said.

"We have to train our children to get enough sleep because it will affect the whole future of the child," she said.

Sleep deprivation can also lead to longer recuperation from illness, said Dr Sadeer Samara, medical director of XY Clinics in Dubai.

"A child who does not sleep well tends to be less focused, irritable and takes longer to recover if he or she becomes sick," Dr Samara said.

"The amount of sleep and intensity changes somewhat, depending on the age of the child, but the necessity of getting at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep does not."

Dr Khaldoun Mozahem, a sleep specialist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology in Abu Dhabi, said growth hormones were mainly secreted at night, which was a time for the body to regenerate and repair.

"There is evidence that the data we obtain during the day and all the sensations we receive during the day, through vision and hearing – all this information will be reorganised when we are asleep," Dr Mozahem said.

Parents needed to be educated about the problem, said Dr Bassel Shaaban, a paediatrician at Abu Dhabi's Al Noor Hospital.

"In the region in general it's quite common, especially with modern life, when there is a lot of entertainment and activities that children can do up to a late time," Dr Shaaban said. "The lack of knowledge from the parents makes the problem even worse.

"When I see some western children, they have more control of it. Most of the time I can see that the parents have the ability and the knowledge to know that this child needs some protocols for sleep, he needs some certain rules for sleep.

"In other communities, they leave the child to decide himself or herself."

School-age children should have between nine and 12 hours sleep at night, Dr Shaaban advised.

He warned that a tired or lazy child can also become an obese child.

Dr Deepti Chaturvedi, a specialist paediatrician at the capital's Burjeel Hospital, agreed that educating parents and children was key.

"The concept of early sleep is not present here in the UAE," Dr Chaturvedi said. "I think they don't realise it's important for kids to sleep and have an adequate amount of sleep because everybody has to go to school the next day.

"More important is to keep the regular pattern so that the kid understands the body, understands the rhythm, the sleep-awake cycle is there and it should start from as early as possible."

She said studies had shown an increased rate of ADHD in children who did not have enough sleep.

It can also have an effect on memory and concentration, resulting in mood swings and behavioural problems.