Summer and Sleep; Vitamin D

Summer and Sleep: Vitamin D will help your child sleep!

Vitamin D plays a huge role in the absorption of calcium, and it is important for bone health. Researchers are now learning it’s vital role in sleep and how it influences melatonin (my favorite hormone of all hormones, of course)!

It’s been found that Vitamin D deficiency can affect melatonin levels. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that increases in levels before bedtime and helps us fall and stay asleep.

Lower levels of Vitamin D in children has been found to be connected to shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality and delayed bedtimes! This is already well documented in adults, but more studies need to be done in the pediatric population.

There are mountains of evidence that Vit D plays a role in prevention of cancer, the immune system and mental health, just to list a few. Researchers are now studying the role of Vit D and sleep, and this is very exciting because Vit D is so easy to get. Go outside!

Am I saying start taking Vitamin D supplements? No, talk to your doctor about that but I am saying this is just another great reason to get the kids outside to play!

Stay tuned for Part 2…Do you soak up Vit D with sunscreen on?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8912284/#:~:text=Growing%20evidence%20has%20demonstrated%20that,13%2C14%2C15%5D.