The research also found that inactive children took longer to fallasleep, with every hour spent sitting adding three minutes to the timeit took to fall asleep.
The US study, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood,emphasises the importance of physical activity not just for children'shealth and weight but also for promoting good sleep.
The research, by the University of Auckland, measured the daytimeactivity and sleep habits of 591 seven-year-olds, using an activitymonitor worn for 24 hours. It found the time it took children to fallasleep ranged from 13-42 minutes, with an average of 26 minutes. Theamount of television watched during the day or children's bedtime had noimpact.
Previous studies have shown that poor sleep patterns in children canaffect their performance at school and increase their risk of beingoverweight (News, 17 April 2008).
