Children who get enough sleep do better in school

Sleep-deprived children often come to class grumpy, while their well-rested peers are more agreeable, flexible and perform better academically, a new study suggests.

"Extending sleep time is an easy, effective way to improve children's health and learning ability," said study author Reut Gruber, director of the attention and sleep behavior laboratory at the Douglas Research Center in Quebec, Canada.

Photo: blogs.families.

Gruber and colleagues studied 34 children ages 7 to 11. For one week, half of the students went to bed earlier than usual, adding an average of 27 minutes each night. The other group went to bed later than usual, by about 54 minutes.

Teachers – unaware of the children's sleep patterns – reported significant changes in the children's behavior and ability to perform daily tasks.

As a result, sleep-deprived children are not only significantly more tired, but also more impulsive and irritable than their well-rested peers. They are also more likely to cry, lose their temper, and act out.

In contrast, the group of children who got enough sleep had much better emotional control and were more alert in the classroom.

Experts say the results are significant, providing further evidence of the importance of sleep.

So how do parents know if their children are getting enough sleep?

School-age children need 10-11 hours of sleep each night, but no two children are the same. Parents should pay attention to the following points:

"Kids this age shouldn't be falling asleep during the day. If they're falling asleep in the car or watching TV, that's a red flag."

Another way to gauge your child's sleep needs is to pay attention to how long they sleep during summer vacations, when they don't need to wake up on a schedule. If your child consistently sleeps longer on school nights, he or she may be chronically sleep deprived.

Parents can take the following steps to help their baby go to bed on time:

- About half an hour before bedtime, prepare with your child - turn off electrical appliances, turn off the TV, computer

- Have a fixed bedtime and wake-up time, apply this to weekends as well

- Set a good example for your child. Go to bed at a set time and talk to your child about the importance of sleep.

According to CNN - NT