Early bedtime best for kids' health
Studies have found going to bed earlier gives kids better brain power and health
The proverb, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" seems to have some scientific merit for kids.
Studies into children and sleep are piling up and the latest suggests it's not only how much sleep they get that matters but also what time they go to bed.
It seems sleep is one of the most important parts of a child's general wellbeing.
The latest University of South Australia study on sleep times found children who go to bed earlier are less likely to be obese than those who stay up late.
Making them healthy
The researchers examined the bed and waking times of 2200 children aged between nine and 16 years and compared their free-time activity and weight.
They found that even with equal amounts of sleep, those who went to bed early and woke early were likely to be slimmer and fitter than the night owls.
"We found that kids who went to bed late and got up late were 1.5 times more likely to become obese and 2.9 times more likely to be physically inactive," the study's co-author Dr Carol Maher says.
"The night owls more often spent their free time playing computer or video games, watching TV or engaged in other sedentary or screen-based activities.
"While scientists have already made the connection between less sleep and poor health outcomes around obesity and fitness, what is interesting and new here is that the timing of sleep may be an important factor in predicting health in young people."
Here are some more critical figures from the research:
- Early-to-bedders accumulated 27 minutes more moderate to vigorous physical activity per day than the late-nighters.
- Night owls spent an average of 48 minutes longer playing video games, watching TV or engaging online than those who turned in early.
Making them wise
Research has linked kids' quality and quantity of sleep with improved cognitive ability.
Sleep experts agree that during sleep the brain restores itself, growth hormones are released, memories are consolidated and unnecessary memories are discarded.
An Israeli study found losing one hour's sleep a night was enough to reduce a 12-year-old child's cognitive abilities to that of a nine-year-old's during the next day. Other research suggests delaying a child's bedtime by one hour over the weekend can lead to a temporary seven-point reduction in IQ scores.
The University of Minnesota found teens who received A grades averaged about 15 more minutes' sleep than B students, who in turn averaged 11 more minutes than the Cs, who had 10 more minutes than the D students.
What time is best?
What most parents probably want to know is what time is best for kids across the ages to head to bed.
Maher says the following bedtimes clocked up the best results in the research.
- Nine-year-olds: 8.30pm.
- Twelve-year-olds: 9pm.
- Fifteen-year-olds: 10pm.
Dr Sarah Blunden, a leading Australian sleep researcher, says she would like to see more parents encourage their children to go to bed earlier.
"Sleep is our most basic of needs, yet it's not given the priority it deserves," she says. "We wear our lack of sleep as a badge of honour – our children see this and that we stay up late at night and they model that behaviour.
"We need to make sleep a priority – maybe that will require us to rearrange our lives but the benefits for everyone will be worth it."
How much sleep do kids need?
- Babies under 12 months: 14 to 18 hours throughout the day and night.
- Toddlers: 12 to 14 hours.
- Primary school: 10 to 12 hours.
- High school: Nine to 11 hours.
Source: The Australian Centre for Education in Sleep
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