What Nutritional Deficiencies may lead to Insomnia in Children?
It is a fact that sleep plays a vital role in keeping us physically and mentally healthy. Many factors can significantly affect your sleep patterns. For instance, a lack of vitamins and minerals in your body can lead to insomnia. Vitamins and minerals are some of the main components that help your brain relax. As a result, not getting enough of these essential nutrients can cause a lack of sleep.
Especially children nowadays are facing insomnia because of lack of vitamins and minerals in their diet. Their diet contains various nutritional deficiencies, which can lead to many other health problems too. Some health supplements such as melatonin gummies for kids can help them sleep peacefully at night. You can easily find some effective and high-quality melatonin supplements in the market and online made by some trustworthy companies that include Tired Teddies, Gummies Garden, and Vicks Pure Zzzs.
Some Nutritional Deficiencies that are Linked to Poor Sleep:
Vitamin D deficiency:
Lack of sunlight causes a deficiency of vitamin D. When ample amounts of vitamin D are not produced in the body, you can experience sleep disturbances. Too much production of vitamin D and too little can both ruin your sleep cycles. Children are facing a lack of sleep these days. It is because they are not getting enough exposure to sunlight. Their levels of vitamin D are either too low or too high. To battle with vitamin D deficiency, kids should eat fish, liver, egg yolks, etc. They could also take in vitamin D supplements along with exposure to sunlight.
Vitamin B12 deficiency:
Vitamin B12 is possibly linked with sleep issues in children. Some reports show that people with higher vitamin B12 are more likely to have a night of better sleep than those with vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 can also improve your sleep patterns. Having a vitamin B12 deficiency can result in symptoms of depression. As depression can cause poor sleep, a deficiency of vitamin B12 in your diet can cause insomnia. However, further investigation is needed to prove that vitamin B12 is tied with sleep problems.
Vitamin B12 can be found naturally in many foods. These include meat, dairy products, fish, eggs, poultry, sardines, liver, beef, tuna, salmon, and some fortified nutritional yeasts and fortified breakfast cereals. You can also take vitamin B12 supplements if you are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency.
Magnesium deficiency:
Did you know that magnesium also plays a role in regulating your sleep cycle? This mineral also helps to induce deep sleep as it helps your brain produce melatonin, which is a hormone that allows you to sleep. Magnesium can also help to calm your nervous system. As high levels of anxiety or stress also cause sleep issues, a relaxed nervous system may greatly help you fight your sleep problems. In addition to that, magnesium can also help produce a neurotransmitter known as GABA, which also enables you to sleep better. If you want to increase your magnesium levels, fill in your diet with yogurt, nuts, milk, fresh fruits, leafy greens, and brown rice. Also, avoid caffeine and processed fats as they can significantly lower your magnesium levels.
Iron deficiency:
Iron deficiency anaemia can cause multiple health problems in children. One of them being insomnia can cause children to be restless for nights on end. Low iron levels can also stop the production of an amino acid known as tryptophan. This amino acid is used by the body to produce two hormones that are serotonin and melatonin. While serotonin improves your behavior and mood, melatonin has been known to influence your sleep patterns.
On the other hand, when it comes to the production of red blood cells, iron plays a significant role. Low iron levels can cause less formation of red blood cells, ultimately bringing about fatigue and tiredness. In addition to that, iron deficiency can result in restless leg syndrome. In this condition, your legs shake unconsciously at night, which can cause you to become insomniac.
Therefore, iron is a mineral that is essential for a good night’s sleep. Especially children need a good amount of iron in their diet to fulfill their needs. Some sources of iron include spinach, red meat, beans, dried fruits, nuts, liver, and some fortified breakfast cereals. You could also take supplements to raise your iron levels.
Omega 3 deficiency:
Omega 3 is a supplement that has often been recommended for children. Low omega-three levels have been known to cause less production of melatonin in the body. A study shows that children between the ages of seven and nine who took omega-three supplements managed to get more sleep than others who did not.
Hence, omega three fatty acids can help promote better sleep patterns in children. Not only do omega-three fatty acids help you have a better sleep pattern, but they can also enhance the quality and length of your sleep.
