Eating Fish Improves Sleep And Intelligence In Children

Parents should introduce fish to their child early and at least once a week, as the University of Pennsylvania found last week that children who eat fish at least once a week have better sleep quality and higher intelligence.

While previous studies did find that eating fish leads to increased intelligence, this study is the first to have discovered the potential reason why this is so - eating fish improves a child's sleep quality, which in turn increases his or her intelligence.

Fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which reduces the risk for heart disease, alleviates depression, is important for the development of a baby and suggested in some research to protect against Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.

In the Penn study published in the journal Scientific Reports on 21st December 2017, 541 9- to 11-year-olds in China, 54 percent boys and 46 percent girls completed a questionnaire about how often they consumed fish in the past month. They also took the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, which examines verbal and non-verbal skills.

Their parents also completed the standardized Children Sleep Habits Questionnaire, which included questions on their child's sleep duration, the frequency of night waking and daytime sleepiness.

The Penn team found that children who reported eating fish weekly scored 4.8 points higher on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) exams than those who said they "seldom" or "never" consumed fish. Those whose meals sometimes included fish scored 3.3 points higher. 

At the same time, children who consumed fish at least once weekly also experienced better overall sleep quality, indicated as they had fewer disturbances of sleep.

Better Sleep Quality Is The Potential Missing Link Between Fish And Higher Intelligence

Hence, this is the first time where sleep is revealed to be a possible mediating factor, the potential missing link between fish and intelligence. This is discovered by the team who conducted the research - Jianghong Liu, Jennifer Pinto-Martin and Alexandra Hanlon of the School of Nursing and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Adrian Raine.

"Lack of sleep is associated with an antisocial behavior; poor cognition is associated with antisocial behavior," said Raine, who has appointments in the School of Arts and Sciences and Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. "We have found that omega-3 supplements reduce antisocial behavior, so it's not too surprising that fish is behind this."

Introduce Fish To Your Child As Early As Possible

Hence, Pinto-Martin, who is executive director of Penn's Center for Public Health Initiatives, as well as the Viola MacInnes/Independence Professor of Nursing and a professor of epidemiology in Penn Medicine, advises parents to introduce fish to their children as early as possible.

This is because with better quality sleep for your child, it leads to better cognition in the long run, a higher ability to absorb his or her environment, peers and lessons in the daytime and increases his or her social adeptness as well.

"Introducing the taste early makes it more palatable," Pinto-Martin said. "It really has to be a concerted effort, especially in a culture where fish is not as commonly served or smelled. Children are sensitive to smell. If they're not used to it, they may shy away from it."