Learning Objectives

After completion of this module students will be able to:

• Describe the ways in which poor sleep hygiene may influence weight gain.
• Explain personal sleeping habits and consequences related to poor sleep hygiene.
• Describe the bi-directional cycle that impacts both sleep quality and obesity.

Key Concepts:

• 20 to 40% of young children are reported to have some type of sleep problem.
• Parents aren’t aware of how many sleep hours a child should be getting; National Sleep Foundation recommends 11 to 13 hours for young children.
• It’s not really possible to “catch up on sleep” over the long term.
• Poor sleep habits are one of the strongest predictors of obesity.
• As your sleep time decreases, you become energy deprived, which can result in a stress response.
• New sleep assessment and monitoring techniques are assessing sleep quantity, as well as quality.

Video Microlectures

• Video: Sleep and Obesity
  Dr. Blake L. Jones, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University

Optional Readings

• Jones, B. L., Fiese, B. H., and the STRONG Kids Team (2014). Parent routines, child routines, and family demographics associated with obesity in parents and preschool-aged children. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1-10.