Can Teachers Tell Which Children Get More Sleep?

Though many studies suggest that children’s sleep affects their mood, performance and memory, a recent study in the journal Sleep by authors Mary Carskadon, PhD et al questions whether sleep deprivation will lead to a noticeable change in behavior and performance in the classroom. The three-week study of school-aged children restricted sleep of randomly assigned children to 8 hours in first and second grade and 6.5 hours for children in third grade and above. Teachers of children in these classes were asked to complete weekly ratings of behavior and performance for all their students, noting symptoms of restlessness, hyperactivity, difficulty paying attention, aggressiveness, anxiety and difficulty staying awake.

The results of the study of 84 school-aged children showed that teachers reported a greater number of attention and behavior problems in students whose sleep had been restricted. They also noted that the children were slower to pick up new information and were more forgetful about what they had learned. Though the researchers acknowledge some limitations in the study, such as limited diversity of the sample, they believe the study offers significant evidence that sleep restriction has negative effects upon students’ performance and behavior.