Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — A new study finds that one of the keys to keeping your child happy and healthy is making sure he gets enough sleep consistently.
This is not surprising for parents, right?
Results show that 39 minutes of sleep can make a huge difference.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open Wednesday, researchers monitored 100 children, ages 8 to 12, living in New Zealand.
The children took turns sleeping the first week an hour earlier than their usual bedtime, the following week an hour later than their usual bedtime, and a third week at their usual time between the two.
The children alternated between a week of going to bed one hour earlier and one hour later — with one week at normal time in between the two.
Then, using a questionnaire, the children and their parents rated their sleep disturbances during the day.
The researchers also surveyed the children about their healthy quality of life.
The study said that the children who participated in the study regularly slept between 8 and 11 hours per night, and were considered generally healthy.
After one week of sleeping 39 minutes less each night, the children reported lower levels of general well-being and their ability to cope at school.
“We all know that we feel better when we get a good night’s sleep, but there is little data using experimental designs that reflect how much that actually works,” Rachael Taylor, the study’s lead researcher, told CNN.
“This kind of interventional data is the only way we can prove that changing one behavior actually affects the other,” she continued.
The study covered several aspects of well-being, including assessments of how the children felt physically and psychologically in terms of their relationships with their parents and peers, and how they felt about school.
The assessment included questions about whether the children were able to concentrate at school, if they were physically fit, or had the energy to enjoy and spend time with their friends.
Not all children were able to reduce the duration of sleep by a full hour.
However, whatever the time period, this caused a deterioration in their well-being.
Taylor said the effects were greatest when participants lost half an hour or more of sleep.
“We think about how important it is to promote healthy sleep,” said Arielle Williamson, a pediatric sleep expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study. “We haven’t seen this kind of study that looks at health-related quality of life or quality of life outcomes, which we know are really important, because often this really resonates with families, teachers and public health officials.”
The children were monitored between 4 July and 1 September 2022, and many questions remain about the long-term effects.
“We don’t know about the long-term effects,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, she advises families “not to underestimate the importance of sleep, and prioritize it as much as possible”.
