A child who has not grown to X centimeters during puberty will be considered a "failure"! Doctor: It is always recommended to use "1 drink" to supplement nutrition
I didn’t go to bed until 2 o’clock and cut the growth factor in half! Did the child fail the exam when he or she did not reach X centimeters during puberty?
“Doctor, my child’s growth progress is not as good as that of my classmates. Do I need to drink Zhuan Gu Fang?” Parents often bring their children to the doctor anxiously. After questioning by the doctor, they find that their children often go to bed late, have insufficient sleep time, and have irregular work and rest schedules, which have accumulated adverse growth factors over a long period of time. Dr. Chen Yicheng, a pediatric specialist at Hexin Minquan Maternity and Child Clinic, explained that many parents carefully prepare secret bone rejuvenation recipes for their children, but ignore the importance of good sleep, resulting in missing valuable growth periods.
Many parents worry that their children are always unwilling to go to bed early, or they toss and turn in bed and have difficulty falling asleep. Dr. Chen Yicheng explained that the human body will secrete growth hormone after entering the deep sleep period, which in turn drives the growth of bone and muscle tissue. Some foreign studies have pointed out that compared with going to bed at 10 p.m., falling asleep at 2 a.m. will significantly reduce the peak secretion of growth hormone, or even halve the value.
Parents are reminded to pay more attention to the importance of sleep, especially as children have a limited period of rapid growth and should not be delayed by wrong life schedules. Doctors remind that before puberty, the average height should be 4-6 centimeters per year, and after puberty, the average height can be increased by 8-10 centimeters per year at the fastest. Parents can use this value as an indicator to evaluate whether their children are lagging behind in growth.
Children also need a “sense of ritual” to fall asleep! Doctor reveals 3 keys to long-term sleep
As for how to help children develop correct sleep habits? Dr. Chen Yicheng put forward the following 3 major sleep suggestions to remind parents how to grasp the growth period from their daily routine:
Get enough nutrients. To help your child sleep better, you can start by eating the right nutrition. For example, calcium can calm nerves and relax muscles, and has a certain stabilizing effect on children who have difficulty falling asleep. In addition, “tryptophan”, which is commonly found in dairy and nut foods, is an important hormone that regulates sleep cycles and is the raw material for the body’s synthesis of serotonin and melatonin. It is recommended to consume more of it from natural foods.
Establish a bedtime ritual. Doctors share that regular parent-child interaction time can be cultivated 1-2 hours before going to bed, such as taking a bath at 8 o’clock → starting to tell stories at 9 o’clock → turning off the lights at 9:30 → holding a baby and chatting → going to bed on time at 10 o’clock. Establish a bedtime ritual through a fixed daily schedule, so that these habits become a situation that restricts your children from going to bed on time.
Avoid 3C before going to bed. Doctors share that factors such as having too much fun before going to bed, being exposed to too many 3C products, and having too bright a sleeping environment can easily over-stimulate children’s nerves and make it difficult to fall asleep in a state of excitement. It is recommended that parents should avoid letting their children sleep for an hour before going to bed. Using electronic products, engaging in too strenuous activities, or setting up excessive night lights can help children fall asleep more smoothly.
Parents are worried about their children falling behind in growth. Doctors reveal that when they come to the outpatient clinic, they always recommend drinking “1 drink”
In addition, Dr. Chen Yicheng also pointed out in a previous post on social media that when parents who come to the clinic for consultation ask “what supplements should be supplemented for children’s growth”, they will always recommend trying “drinking more fresh milk” first. In addition to calcium, which stabilizes nerves and relaxes muscles, and tryptophan, which regulates important hormones in the sleep cycle, it can not only help children fall asleep, but also support bone health and muscle growth.
In addition, fresh milk contains a variety of essential amino acids, which will be converted into growth factor (IGF-1) after ingestion and further regulate the secretion of growth hormone. Dr. Chen Yicheng also cited the latest “National Nutrition and Health Status Change Survey” data and said that the Taiwan Health Promotion Administration recommends drinking 2 cups of fresh milk every day (one cup is 240mL), but children and adolescents aged 7-18 years old should consume less than one cup of dairy products. It was as high as 80%, indicating that growing children generally have nutritional deficiencies such as calcium and protein.
Dr. Chen Yicheng reminds parents to prepare 2 cups of fresh milk every day, one cup with breakfast and the other cup in the afternoon, after dinner or before going to bed. This not only supplements nutrition, but also prevents children from interrupting their sleep due to hunger. If you are worried about your child’s indigestion, just be careful not to eat too much before going to bed. You can also consider preparing warm milk to help your child relax and fall asleep.
References:
Takahashi, Y., Kipnis, DM, & Daughaday, WH (1968). Growth hormone secretion during sleep. The Journal of clinical investigation, 47(9),2079–2090.
Abbassi V. Growth and Normal Puberty. Pediatrics. 1998;102(Supplement 3):507. - PubMed
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