Study: More sleep, better behavior at school
A new Canadian study has found a correlation between the number of hours of sleep kids get and their behavior at school. More sleep improved kids’ behaviors and made them less restless. Children with less sleep were more likely to cry, lose their tempers or become frustrated. The study is reported in Pediatrics.
The National Institutes for Health recommend 10 hours of sleep for kids. (The article doesn’t say for what age range.)
“The children were split into two groups for the second week. One group’s parents were told to add an hour to their kids’ usual time asleep, while the other group was told to cut their sleep time by an hour.”
“Half of the children did lose an hour of sleep each night, but the other group was only able to add about 30 minutes. Still, that seemed long enough for teachers to notice an improvement in the kids’ behavior….”
“The children who got the extra 30 minutes of sleep during the second week scored, on average, about 47, meaning their behavior had improved. But the children who lost an hour of sleep each night were scored about 54.”
I don’t think there’s any doubt that a well-rested child is going to better behaved, able to concentrate and ready to work. The question is how do you help them get more sleep? They can’t sleep in so that means you have to get them to bed earlier, but that is hard with homework, dinner and sporting events.
On a related note, part of the reason my 11-year-old had her tonsils out this summer was because the doctors believed the large size of the tonsils was blocking her oxygen intake and hurting her sleep. The Ear Nose Throat doctor asked if her sheets were always crazy in the morning and he said that indicated that she was a restless sleeper. Since having her tonsils out, she sleeps so much more soundly. She is far less grumpy in the morning and when I go to wake her up the bed sheets are not in a big twist on the bed.
The ENT went on to say that many ENT’s believe having the tonsils out helps and even rids some kids of ADHD. I don’t believe better sleep will get rid of accurately diagnosed case of ADHD (it’s neuro-chemical) but I do think better sleep will help any child concentrate better and be more cooperative
So, is your child getting 10 hours of sleep a night? Could you get them to bed earlier? Do you notice a correlation between well-rested and better behavior?
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67 comments Add your comment
motherjanegoose
October 20th, 2012
9:51 am
GTmom…this is what I hate about projects. There were times we spent $25 on projects that went into the trash. Many do not have $25 to waste. I feel bad for parents who are burdened with this expense, when they are trying to just keep food on the table or gas in theri car. I have no answers on this one, for sure!
catlady
October 20th, 2012
10:27 am
Mayhem: Just because someone has $$ doesn’t mean they have sense!
MJG at 10:14: Very tactfully said.
mom of 3
October 20th, 2012
11:23 am
I think MJG and Catlady should have the raising children blog. They are more in the know about this topic that TMG. I am being extremely serious about this. I think their blog would actually be on the subj that is stated, “A daily guide to raising healthy children without going insane” – TMG goes grossly off this most of the time in order to get hits.
motherjanegoose
October 20th, 2012
11:46 am
@ mom of 3…thanks! TWG is in charge of this blog and I am thrilled that she puts up with me and has for quite a while. I defer to catlady, as she has more years of experience and grandchildren too. We two like to pick each other’s brains for ideas and knowledge.
Parenting is a learning experience. Some choose to take other parent’s advice and some do not.
When we moved to Arkansas we had NO experience with a big garden. For the most part, my parents did not seek out other people’s advice. Particularly since they were Yankees and WHAT could Southerners know that they did not? I am embarrassed to admit that I grew up in this scenario and believed it…as I was a child who heard it often. Anyway, in Arkansas, the ground is rocky. If they would have listened, they would know that you need to get the rocks out of the soil BEFORE you plant carrots. We came from black dirt, with NO rocks in Illinois. Well, we had LOTS of carrrots but they grew so crooked ( to get around the rocks as root vegetables) that we could not peel them to eat them. Some parents will just proceed and grow “crooked children” and then wonder ( as we did with the carrots) what to do with them when they are grown.
Between the two of us,catlady and I have 5 children who are 20 and older. All are a success, in their own right. We just try to share our experiences and some here are snotty towards us. Oh well…our kids are grown and we ( for the most part) have done a good job. Not because WE think so but because other people compliment us on our children and they are NOT related to us!
DB also has grown children who are a tribute to having her as a GOOD parent. I am sure there are others here ( BlondeHoney and lakerat) but I do not know them on a personal level and thus cannot tell what I do not know. As I always say…look for parents whose kids you admire and then emulate what they did to get their kids to that level.
Homeschool supporter
October 20th, 2012
12:27 pm
I am sure that research would show that more recess and less Ritalin, Prozac, Adderal, etc. are also better for kids, but such a study would undermine the plans of the establishment that is destroying the future of america by destroying the youngest generations.
Get your kids out of the government prisons, off the bigPharma chemicals and into a learning envirnment whose purpose is actually education, not indoctrination, compliance, and subservience.
DB
October 20th, 2012
2:43 pm
God, I HATED “project” homework, and was so grateful when poster board finally gave way to Power-Points! My daughter had one brand-new teacher in first grade who, at the beginning of the year, had a project EVERY WEEK. After a month of this nonsense, I talked to her and asked her what her goal was in assigning so many projects. As a 23 year old with no kids, she had the unmitigated gall to loftily inform me that she felt that one of the problems facing kids was lack of time with their parents, and she was trying to encourage more parent-child interaction. WTH?! I had to point out that her little experiment in social engineering was actually COSTING me quality time with my child, time that we could otherwise spend fixing dinner, enjoying a book together, playing “Sorry!” or just time that she needed to play with her friends and get the exercise they don’t provide for in school anymore. I wasn’t the only parent who discussed this with her, apparently, and suddenly, in mid-October, the projects dwindled to a reasonable amount. She wasn’t a stupid teacher — but I was taken aback by her (faulty) assumption that none of the children in her class spent enough time with their parents, and it was her job to fix that. She was trying to fix a problem that didn’t exist. She had seen it at the school she had student-taught at (a low-performing public school), and thought to begin her crusade at a private school where probably 2/3rds of the mothers in her class didn’t work full time because they chose to stay at home with their kids. In other words: A waste of her time, and, especially, OURS.
Gtmom
October 20th, 2012
10:25 pm
DB – I am afraid that is why we are given all the extra homework too. I think lots of teachers just assume the parents are not involved. I may work a lot but I am very involved. I even keep up with curriculum and pros and cons on our different textbooks. I don’t have total faith in some of our curriculum so I teach two different subjects to my children out of home school text books that I do approve of. Funny thing is that I only have to spend 15 minutes at a time to teach my child a particular item and then he can do on his own homework without my help. Why does the work sent home from school require parent’s help? And why does it have to take so much of our precious time together? I still think more sleep is more important than homework. Heck, I when I went GA Tech, I put up all books by 8 pm (this was not the norm) but I know that I need down time and sleep and I did better studying day by day instead of cramming. Sleep is VERY important – at least to some.
the truth
October 21st, 2012
1:58 am
This is the second column of yours that I have read. The first was was a whining complaint of the Apple store and now this obvious bit of information that has been known since the dawn of man. Do you get paid to write this column? How did you convince the AJC that you could provide an informative column to readers. Let me help you with your next column. Children who do their homework will have better grades in school.
karma
October 21st, 2012
9:23 am
Drinking water will keep you from getting thirsty! and other mindless, obvious correlations that a Canadian blogger didn’t have to tell me! AJC continues to embarrass itself by allowing this drivel. And how many school blogs do we need? And lets stick to local bloggers, not a detached mombie from Ari freakin Zona!
The Dixie Diarist
October 21st, 2012
9:34 am
RIGHT FROM THE CLASSROOM: REST ASSURED
I asked Albert why he was so sleepy.
He said he went to bed late.
I asked him what was late for him.
Five.
His buddy, Herman, screamed … Five in the mornin’!
Albert said … Yep.
We all gave Albert a good look.
He looked back at everybody else. Then he said … It’s no big deal.
Herman said that is really late.
Then I said … It’s not late … it’s early. Anybody see the movie Barton Fink? They said that in the movie. It’s not late … it’s early. Get it?
They seemed to get it.
I asked Albert what he was doing until five.
Playing video games.
Your parents okay with that? The all night part on a school night deal? I hate to seem like a prude … but that’s hard core. Five in the morning.
Albert said his parents sort of care and don’t care. That they let him do what he wants as long as he doesn’t give them any trouble.
Fair enough.
We asked him how much sleep he got before he had to get up and get ready for school.
Albert said five minutes.
Herman said he has to have a good night’s sleep in order function the next day. Herman gave Albert a funny look.
Albert shrugged his shoulders.
For the rest of class we all watched Albert with great interest and intensity—his head was dunking up and down, his eyelids were closing and opening, his mouth would drop open, his words made no sense, and his class participation grade was not looking so good every minute that passed—while he not so courageously fought off the overwhelming embrace of the great and universal god of sleeping in school, our good friend and leader Hypnos.
The whole scene was hilarious and mesmerizing and full of cozy classroom camaraderie … and we didn’t feel sorry for Albert one bit. Come to find out, it all made him smile, and I think deep down Albert loved the attention. Even though he was asleep the whole time we gave it to him.
http://www.adixiediary.com
redandblack
October 21st, 2012
12:29 pm
Doesn’t anyone read to their kids at night anymore? We do. My 5 and 7 year old BEG for their bedtime stories.
As I have said many times before on these blogs, PARENTS are what is wrong with education today. It’s not the schools, the teachers, the administrators. Although these things can be problematic, they are not the major causes of failure in education. PARENTS are! The kind of parents who just don’t care enough to even put their kid to bed at a decent time. It’s not hard. I actually enjoy our bedtime routine. It frustrates me because my kids have to go to school and try to focus with these underachieving and disruptive kids.
motherjanegoose
October 21st, 2012
12:52 pm
@ red and black…thanks for reading to your child…if more parents did…things would be different!
Janice
October 21st, 2012
2:02 pm
being late is accepted, so if they stay up late and don’t get rest and are late going to school, it’s ok. what drives me nuts is church service doesn’t even start on time. typically 10 min late every sunday.
bedtimes are needed. children should not dictate rules and schedules. it’s all about being a parent and not your child’s friend.
Gtmom
October 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
@ redandblack, not sure it is the circles I run in but everyone I know reads to their kids at bedtime (parents even do to their children during camping trips). My children love it more than anything so I use it as punishment if they don’t get done with their getting ready for bed activities. I think the most devastating thing in our house to lose a book at bedtime (which happens about twice a month). To be honest, I don’t remember parents reading to me or most of my classmates when we were children. Seems to be more the norm these days.
Gtmom
October 21st, 2012
2:14 pm
Sorry – should be (parents even read to their children during camping trip bedtimes).
Kat
October 22nd, 2012
9:59 pm
Wait! Canada PAID for this study? Why don’t I just get less sleep and see how well I drive in the morning? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
As for that ENT’s opinion? Well, there is a reason he/she is an ENT and not a neurologist. Anyone who takes an ENT’s opinion on how the brain works is misguided and gullible.
Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D.
October 24th, 2012
9:23 pm
I totally agree that children need sleep to be healthy mentally and physically. One of the biggest interferences with sleep is bad dreams. But fortunately, we know a lot about where nightmares and bad dreams originate. I am a child psychotherapist, parenting author (Smart Love) and now the author of a children’s picture book on bad dreams (Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!). Dreams are “stories we tell ourselves for a reason.” In the case of bad dreams, the reason is usually unfinished emotional business from the day before. If parents help children to connect the bad dream with an upsetting experience they have had, children feel empowered rather than helpless and begin to treat dreams like puzzles that can be solved. This makes it possible for children to understand their own dreams without having to run to their parents’ room.