School Performance and Sleep

Improve Your Child’s School Performance With a Good Night’s Sleep

Getting consistent sleep is vital for children and adolescents who are experiencing significant brain development. Unfortunately, a significant number of students in elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States are failing to get enough nightly sleep. ...

Sleep needs vary by age. For school-age children ages 6-12 years, the National Sleep Foundation recommends 9-11 total hours of sleep per day. For teens, the recommended amount of sleep is 8-10 hours per day.

Unfortunately, researchers have found that many children in the United States are failing to get the sleep they need. As many as 25% of younger children are believed to suffer from poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness. ...

It is widely accepted by sleep experts that a lack of sleep reduces cognitive abilities and can harm school performance in children and teens. ...

• Decreased attention. The ability to concentrate is vital to learning and academic achievement, but insufficient sleep reduces attention and focus.
• Impaired memory. Sleep provides a time for memory encoding, which is when the brain stores and strengthens the recollection of an image or thought. Without adequate sleep, memories may not be properly formed, and it may also be more difficult to accurately recall stored information.
• Slowed processing. Short sleep may reduce sharpness, slow reaction time, and hinder the ability to quickly take in and analyze information.
• Worsened sequential thinking. The ability to remember a series of steps, such as in a science experiment or when playing a musical instrument, is reduced when sleep is curtailed.
• Reduced creativity. Creative thinking relies on being able to make connections between diverse ideas, and some research has found that this type of mental activity is harmed by poor sleep.

Sleep deprivation can also detract from school performance because of various effects on mood and behavior:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness:  Drowsiness during the day, including at school, can have considerable consequences for academic achievement. Dozing off for seconds at a time, known as microsleeps, can occur in the classroom, causing a student to fall asleep at their desk. In addition to interrupting learning, this may be viewed by teachers as a behavior problem.
• Poor decision-making: Limited sleep can hinder the development of the parts of the brain involved in making good decisions, increasing the likelihood of risky or unwise choices that can lead to disciplinary problems in school.
• Aggression: Some research in children has linked sleeping problems to a heightened risk of aggressive behavior, which may be especially worrisome when combined with sleep deprivation’s effects on mood.
• Irritability and mood: Quality sleep is correlated with healthy emotional regulation, which may make children and teens who fail to get enough sleep more likely to be irritable or upset.
• Hyperactivity: Insufficient sleep can affect attention and in one study was associated with levels of hyperactive behavior reported by teachers. Sleeping problems may exacerbate the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Depression and Anxiety: In both adults and children, sleep deprivation is associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety, and these conditions can directly affect a child’s overall health and school performance. ...

It’s natural for parents to want to do all that they can to support their children in school. Given the importance of sleep for academic performance, parents can make promoting good sleep a pillar of their child’s learning.

Better sleep often starts by first discussing sleep habits and the benefits of sleep with their children. Recognizing the value of quality rest for everyone in the family can be a jumping-off point for practical steps to improving sleep. As part of this process, parents should do their best to model good sleep habits, which can benefit parental health and serve as an example for their children.

A vital step for many families is making sleep a priority. Parents should create a daily schedule that accounts for school start times and other activities and budgets enough hours for children to get the recommended amount of sleep. Having a consistent schedule reinforces the importance of sleep and supports steady sleep habits. ...

Source: Sleep Foundation.org (link)

Dear parents, as always, please visit the link to read the full article which includes strategies for improving your student's sleep habits, as well as many additional resources and information sources related to sleep.

And while this topic is always important, it's even more so during this often busy and chaotic holiday season. Helping your student prioritize sleep and establish healthy sleep habits is something that will help them throughout their school career and indeed their entire lives. 

Sincerely,

Mr. Hutcheson