Are primary schoolchildren getting enough sleep?

Now the new school term is underway and you can settle back into a routine, it may be a good idea to look at how much sleep your little one is getting. This is because experts have found that schoolchildren who have less than nine hours sleep could suffer academically.

According to research, carried out by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Ramon Llill University, there is a direct relationship between sleeping habits and the academic performance of six and seven year-old children.

The study assessed a total of 142 primary school children (65 girls and 77 boys) from different schools who did not have any sleep-related pathological changes. Parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their child’s habits and how many hours they usually slept per night. The experts then assessed the children’s academic, communicative and methodological skills.

Ramon Cladellas, researcher at the Faculty of Psychology at the UAB said: "Although the sample of children sleep almost 8 hours, their sleeping habit shows us that 69% return home after 9pm at least three evenings a week or they go to bed after 11pm at least four nights a week. As such, pupils that sleep 8 or 9 hours have a worse performance than those that sleep 9 or 11 hours."

"Taking into account the results obtained, we believe that more than 9 hours sleep and a nightly routine favours academic performance," added Cladellas.

Children who lose out on vital hours of sleep at night not only suffer academically, but the study also revealed that it can have an affect on grammar, spelling, organisation and comprehension. The study also found was that most children sleep less than what is recommended for their intellectual development.

With so many other influences nowadays such as television, computers and video games the authors of the study place great importance on children having the same routines every night and maintaining a healthy sleep pattern to promote positive cognitive development.

Child sleep expert Linda Russell agrees that children need to switch off mentally after watching the TV before bed: ‘Stop TV one hour before bedtime to allow child to switch off from it,’ she explains. It’s not the content but the flickering that stimulates the brain. If your child is a good sleeper it probably won’t be an issue. If you are struggling with sleep issues, TV won’t help.’

How many hours does your little one sleep on average – a quick poll around the gurgle.com office reveals our children definitely aren’t getting anywhere close to 11 hours at night (it's more like 9 hours!) Tell us in teh comment box below if you think your little ones isn't getting enough sleep.

Last Modified: 15/09/2011

getting enough sleep your children sleep primary schoolchildren affect them academically sleeping habits and the academic performance of children Child sleep expert Linda Russell

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Comments

By GummyGrin 8 months ago

Wow-wish my kids were like that! There getting better but its the early mornings that kill me! 5.30am to 6 for most of the holidays no matter what time the night before. Just starting to be 6-6.30am since he started school and he's usually asleep about 7.30.
xxx

She has always, always been a brilliant sleeper - and now she's at school, she just cant cope with any less sleep!
She even shares a room with her 'not-so-great-sleeping' sister who wakes a lot earlier, but just sleeps through it!
School seems to tire them out more than anything else! When she first started school last year, we used to be home by 3.15, then she would have a nap from 3.15-4, have dinner and then ask to go to bed at about 5.45!
xx

By LucyRuth 8 months ago

My kids also sleep less in the summer-my son insists that his blackout is open which means now the nights are drawing in hey presto he's asleep earlier lol! But don't you find as an adult you feel livelier with light nights? I think it's natural in the northern hemisphere-In Russia where it never gets dark in June people just don't sleep much in the summer-they party all night lol!

By cheery_chick 8 months ago

I thought it said 'are primary school teachers getting enough sleep'?! Enough said lol! I teach some kids who can not keep their eyes open, I've seen some kids crying just because they're tired :(. Sometimes I'll say 'what time do you go to bed at' and they say 8, but then they say and then I play my ds in my bed etc. At young primary age they're still adjusting to not having a daytime nap and to have to actually keep going all day lol! Now how do we convince them that 8 is bedtime and don't wake up till 7.... x

By minigreeney 8 months ago

My 5YO is in bed by 6.30 on school nights and wakes up around 7am so gets 12.5 hours sleep.
At weekends/holidays she doesnt go to bed til a bit later, but she honestly cannot cope with any less sleep for school.
Last week she didnt go to bed til 8pm on a school night; the next day she was asleep at 4pm on the sofa... it then wrecks her sleeping pattern for a good few days.
x

By GummyGrin 8 months ago

By minigreeney 8 months ago

i have a 6 year old daughter who sleeps around 11 hours in the winter but in the summer time when the mornings are lighter and the evenings are lighter she tends to sleep 8/9 hours, which is frustrating because i put her to bed at 7 but she just stays awake untill it gets dark. but once she is asleep thats it. there is no waking her. but she cant handle just the 8/9 hours sleep, not only the way she behaves, but her looks too. she gets bags under her eyes and a puffy face if she doesnt get enough. her moods definatly change even in her reading. when she has enough sleep she is always willing to learn, weather it will be reading or writing, homework or things at home. sheryl

Have you tried the blackout blinds in the summer- they are great! There black ones that you stick up on the window byt the gro company i think! AMazing they make the room dark whatever the time They beat the blackout liners. I have a pair which i got for my son cos he used to wake too early as the sun would stream through his window after the blackout liners didn't help. Only problem is that cos they stick up by the sucker pad things there a pain to get up and down and when we kept them up the whole upstirs was really dark!

By custardfly 8 months ago

my girls 1 and 3 years got to bed at 7 sleep by half 7 and i wake them at half 7 in the morning! my son hes 8 goes to bed at 8 asleep by half 8 and he wakes himself up at half 6! .. he wakes up because hes had enough sleep not because something has woken him up... as for school my son enjoys it .. (most days) and attends school clubs after school.. but he goes to a prep school where the way they educate the child is different anyway!