Arabia sleep the least in the world
Professor and Consultant in Chest Diseases and Sleep Disorders, Director of the University Center for Sleep Medicine and Research at King Saud University’s College of Medicine, Ahmed Salem Bahamam, revealed that primary school children in Saudi Arabia sleep the number of hours less than children in the world. Because our schools start early in the morning, so the first class in Riyadh, for example, starts at 6:45 am, and in other cities it is 7 in the morning. "Our children stay up at night, so they go to school without getting enough sleep," Bahamam said, noting that in one of the previous studies, they found that 15% of students sleep in the classroom. “Sleeplessness is a very common problem in Saudi society, and we have found it in previous research, and unfortunately children with the summer vacation happened to have a complete change in the biological clock,” Bahamam added in an interview with Riyadh Radio. As many of them stayed up until after the dawn prayers and slept until afternoon or sunset.
Bahamam continued: "By changing the morning awakening times to go to school at times that children are not used to, because of the long stay up at night during the summer vacation, children may suffer during the first week of headache, nausea, lack of concentration, sleep in the classroom or hyperactivity." He said, “It is good that children are able to adapt to biological clocks faster than adults. Therefore, there are several days left for the start of the new school year, which begins next Sunday, ”advising parents in this regard to gradually adjust the sleep dates of their children from today. He added: “If the child used to wake up at five in the afternoon, for example, he might wake up at two o''clock at noon, and encourage him to sleep early at night, and on the next day he wakes up at 12 noon or 11 in the morning, and the next day he is woken up at eight or seven in the morning, and he is encouraged to sleep early at night. The night, provided that he is occupied throughout the day with physical activities outside the home, and rewarded with something that loves children by buying games, going to the amusement park or attending the cinema, for example so that he does not sleep so that next Sunday he has slept regularly.
The consultant "Bahamam" pointed out that electronic games are among the problems that cause children to stay up late, and this is scientifically proven. Because any light emitted to the eyes leads to a deficiency in the secretion of the sleep hormone, or darkness, which is a very important sleep hormone. He also warned, according to recently published research, that using video games and electronic games, or mobile and tablet devices in the evening, leads to children suffering from depression, mental distraction, poor concentration and weak scientific achievement capabilities. He indicated that it is important to establish a discipline in the home in understanding with the children. To specify specific times for the use of these devices, not to exceed after Maghrib prayer, for example, noting that using them after eight in the evening is not recommended for elementary school students. Regarding children''s refusal to go to bed, a professor and consultant in chest diseases and sleep disorders explained that this is one of the most prominent disorders in children, according to research previously conducted in the Kingdom.
He said: "A large percentage, up to a third of children, refuse to go to sleep, and excuse any excuses, and this is one of the most important disturbances that parents face," calling on parents to resort to consulting a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders in children, in the event that the problem of snoring appears. And he considered that the benign sleep disorders such as nightmares and sleepwalking, which adults and school students may suffer from, do not prevent them from consulting a specialist doctor to treat them. The consultant “Bahamam” warned against being lenient in staying up at night, and said: “God d man as a day being, so his day begins functionally with dawn and not at sunrise,” warning that a sudden sleep change from night to day is scientifically proven that it causes depression and disturbance of the biological clock on the one hand. Sleeplessness, which is linked to many diseases, including the risk of obesity, weight gain, heart disease, stress, diabetes and atherosclerosis. He added: “Therefore, many people, young and old, gain weight during the summer because of eating at night, even if it is the same amount of calories that they ate during the day. Due to changes in the body''s "metabolism" or metabolism processes.
