Were you aware that getting good sleep every night is crucial for children’s brain development? That said, it is not only important to get a good night’s sleep the night before a test or exam in school, just like parents tend to advise children.
Indeed, getting consistent sleep will help your child improve school performance and academic achievement all year round. Otherwise, if children lack sleep, they experience attention, memory, and problem-solving issues which leads to poor performance.
Therefore, if your children struggle at school, continue reading this article to understand the causes of poor sleep and learn how you can help your kids in their academic pursuits.
How Much Sleep Do Children Need?
Basically, sleep needs differ by age. For example, 6-12-year-olds need 9 to 11 hours of sleep per day, whereas teens need a little less, 8 to 10 hours. However, unfortunately, research has shown that children in the US tend to fail in getting the recommended amount of sleep per day.
Precisely speaking, up to 25% of younger children don’t get the right amount of sleep and suffer from lack of sleep and daytime sleepiness. Similarly, adolescents also have sleep issues which are even more prevalent than those of younger children. Precisely speaking, slightly over 55% of middle school and 70% of high school students experience sleep deprivation.
How Poor Sleep Affects School Performance?
Experts from all over the world strongly agree that sleep deprivation has a negative effect on cognitive abilities and can reduce children’s school performance. Although most research was conducted on adults, the effects are pretty much the same in children.
The existing evidence collected from studies conducted on children indicates that lack of sleep harms performance in school in the following ways:
- Reduced attention and focus
- Decreased memory
- Slowed reaction and processing time
- Poor sequential thinking
- Impaired creativity
- Poor decision-making skills
- Excessive sleepiness
- Increased irritability
- Depression and anxiety
How to Help Children Improve Sleep and School Performance?
Finally, it all comes down to the question of how can parents help children excel at school by improving sleep. Hence, let’s see how you can do so.
Promoting good sleep habits is actually the first step toward improving children’s learning. Also, make your children aware of the value of getting quality sleep. As parents, try to be the best model of good sleep habits and be an excellent example for your kids. Here are some of the good sleep habits you should follow as a family:
- Make sleep a priority – Always take into account the hours of sleep your children need when planning daily schedules. For instance, if they have to wake up at 7 am, ensure you don’t end up having late dinner or visiting friends or family until 11 pm.
- Set a consistent bedtime – By setting a strict bedtime you can make plans in accordance and protect against other activities. Still, make sure children stick to the bedtime set at weekends as well.
- Follow a relaxing bedtime routine – Encourage your children to follow a relaxing bedtime routine every night to help them prepare for sleep. Help them choose 3 to 4 activities, like taking a shower, brushing their teeth, putting on pajamas, etc., and perform them in the same order every night.
- Forbid screens for at least an hour before bedtime – Electronic gadgets emit blue light which imitates daylight and reduces melatonin production, the sleep hormone. Hence, keep screens away and especially out of the bedroom.
Finally, if the above-listed tips haven’t helped your children and they still struggle with sleeping issues and poor academic performance, talk to a doctor to get professional help.