We used to think that only preschoolers need daytime sleep. However, it turns out that even at an older age, the opportunity to sleep during the day has a positive effect on the well-being and academic performance of children.
If you ask any parent if your child benefits from naps, the answer is almost always yes. A recent large-scale study by a team of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California confirms what parents know from experience: naps are good for mood, energy levels and school performance.
A study of approximately 3000 fourth, fifth and sixth grade students aged 10-12 found an association between daytime sleep and measures such as cheerfulness, self-control and endurance, behavior and IQ. The latter is directly reflected in the results of final exams in the sixth grade.
The most substantiated findings relate to academic performance. “Children who napped at least three times a week during the day improved academic performance in sixth grade by 7,6%,” says neurocriminologist Adrian Rein of the University of Pennsylvania, co-author of the project.
Sleep deprivation and drowsiness is seen in more than 20% of all children, says study lead author Janhong Li, a public health specialist. The negative impact of lack of sleep on cognitive functions, emotional and physical state is widely known. However, previous studies have focused only on children of preschool age and younger.
Part of the root of the problem is that in the United States and other countries, as children grow up, they stop sleeping during the day. In China, for example, this practice continues in primary and secondary schools, as well as among adults. So the scientists turned to the results of the China Cohort Research Project*, which aims to follow a control group of children from the first year of life to adolescence.
Daytime sleep is easily integrated into the routine of life. The end of the school day can be moved a little
The researchers collected data on sleep frequency and duration for each of 2 children in grades four through six. At the end of the sixth grade, an intermediate result was summed up: scientists analyzed both mental indicators (endurance and cheerfulness), and physical indicators – body mass index and glucose levels, as well as the behavior and academic performance of children.
The researchers then analyzed the relationship between each child’s performance and daytime sleep, adjusting for gender, age, school location, parental education level, and nighttime sleep duration. It was the first comprehensive survey of its kind.
“Many laboratory studies of people of all ages have shown that short sleep can significantly improve the ability to solve various cognitive tasks,” explains sleep researcher Sarah Mednick. “Now we have the opportunity to work with the actual data of real people, adolescents, to study a wide range of their behavioral, academic, social and physiological indicators.”
Pediatricians and public health officials in the US have long advocated a later start of the school day, and thanks to the results of the study, scientists can offer an alternative to the existing schedule.
“Afternoon naps are easy to fit into your routine,” says Janhog Lee. – The end of the school day can be shifted a little so as not to sacrifice the total duration of classes. Such a schedule will also reduce the time that children spend in front of monitors, and after all, the passion for devices entails not the most favorable consequences.
Researchers now have to understand why children of more educated parents sleep more during the day, project the prospect of daytime naps around the world by examining the degree of influence of personality and culture, and decide whether it directly leads to better academic performance or if the relationship is more complex.
* A cohort study is used to identify the causes of a disease, establishing links between risk factors and their health consequences. Researchers follow a group of people recruited into a cohort over a period of time, trying to detect changes in their health status associated with the risk factors of interest to the researchers.