Can iron deficiency cause insomnia?

In life, iron is an essential trace element for the baby's body. In fact, iron deficiency will not affect the baby's sleep. Iron deficiency will affect various functions of infants and young children, such as growth and development, movement and immunity. Iron deficiency can also cause a decrease in appetite in babies. Some babies may also develop stomatitis and glossitis. In severe cases, atrophic gastritis or malabsorption syndrome may occur. Therefore, parents should not be careless if their baby is iron deficient and must supplement the baby in time.

Severe iron deficiency can damage the nervous system, affecting the cognition, learning ability and behavioral development of infants and young children. It can last into childhood and is irreversible damage. Iron therapy cannot completely restore damaged cognitive behavior. According to a report by UNICEF, the IQ of children with iron deficiency anemia is 9 percentage points lower than that of normal children on average. In my country, it has been found that the motor and intelligence development indexes of children with anemia are much lower than those of normal children. Therefore, it has a significant and far-reaching impact on their learning and employment in adulthood.

Iron deficiency anemia can reduce the body's immune function and increase the chance of children contracting diseases. At the same time, iron deficiency increases the intestinal absorption of toxic heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, which further causes harm. Iron deficiency has little impact on the baby's sleep quality, but is related to calcium deficiency. One of the reasons why babies have poor sleep and night terrors may be calcium deficiency.

Calcium supplementation helps babies sleep. Babies with severe calcium deficiency are often irritable and restless. Even if they are well fed, warmly dressed, and have dry diapers, they will cry easily. It is easy to wake up after falling asleep, and it is accompanied by night sweats and baldness on the back of the head. These seriously affect the baby's sleep quality, thus affecting physical development.

When babies are 0-6 months old, breastfed babies need to take vitamin D supplements starting half a month after birth to help with calcium absorption. In addition to paying attention to calcium supplementation in their diet, breastfeeding mothers should also take calcium supplements appropriately. For babies who are bottle-fed, it is important to choose high-quality milk powder that contains calcium. Starting from 6 to 12 months, the variety and amount of baby complementary foods increase, and the amount of milk decreases, but the baby still needs 400 to 600 mg of calcium per day. Therefore, you can choose a good calcium supplement for your baby.

A good calcium supplement, first of all, needs to comply with food and drug safety regulations, and not contain flavors, pigments, or preservatives. Secondly, its calcium content should be considered. For example, Diqiao Children's Calcium Carbonate D3 Granules meet US FDA standards, contain 300 mg of calcium per bag, and are scientifically added with vitamin D, which can help calcium be better absorbed and utilized.

At the same time, ensure the baby's activity. In winter, try to take the baby out before 15:00 in the afternoon when the sunshine is better; in summer, it is more appropriate to take the baby out before 9:00 in the morning and after 16:00 in the afternoon. Consuming a certain amount of physical energy is very helpful for the baby to sleep.

In addition, the baby's sleeping environment is also a major factor affecting sleep. The sleeping environment should be quiet and tidy, the lights should be dimmed, and do not hinder the baby's sleeping habits (such as holding a small blanket), which will also help the baby fall asleep quickly.

So how to prevent your baby from iron deficiency? During pregnancy and breastfeeding, mothers should take in enough iron.

During pregnancy and lactation, mothers should eat more foods high in iron, such as animal liver, lean meat, green leafy vegetables, fungi, algae, fish, etc. Eat some fresh fruit after meals, and check your hemoglobin regularly, and seek early treatment if anemia is detected.

Promote breastfeeding. The iron content in breast milk is higher than that in cow's milk, and the iron absorption rate is significantly greater than that in cow's milk, 50% in breast milk and only 10% in cow's milk. After the baby is 4 months old, you should gradually add iron-fortified foods such as vegetable puree, liver puree, meat puree, fish puree, biscuits, bread, rice noodles, etc. according to the baby's age. Babies with severe iron deficiency can supplement with Hengjian Iron Tablets. Supplementing two tablets a day to increase iron can have a good improvement effect.

Use an iron pan and spatula when cooking. When preparing food for your baby, try to use an iron pot and spatula. When cooking food, this traditional cooking utensils will produce some small iron chips that dissolve in the food to form soluble iron, which is easily absorbed by the intestines.

Pay attention to the absorption rate of iron and improve effective intake.

Most of the iron found in animal foods such as meat, fish, and liver is heme iron, which is easily absorbed and utilized by the human body with an absorption rate of 10% to 25%; while the iron found in plant foods is non-heme iron, with an absorption rate of only 1%.

In addition, vitamin C in the diet can promote the absorption of iron. If you eat iron-rich foods with some fresh vegetables and fruits, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort in taking oral iron supplements. If parents suspect that their baby has symptoms of iron deficiency, it is recommended that they go to the hospital for a routine blood test to further determine whether the baby is anemic. If iron deficiency anemia is confirmed, oral iron supplements should be used for treatment. The WHO diagnostic criteria for anemia in children are: Hb (hemoglobin) < 140g/L for newborns within 10 days of birth, Hb < 110g/L for children aged 6 months to less than 7 years, and Hb < 120g/L for children aged 7 to 14 years.