A new report shows that getting your school-aged kids to bed at regular times can seriously pay off. The results show that getting just 20 minutes extra sleep every night can boost grades.
The findings have come to light through the Sleep Medicine journal after conducting a six-week sleep education study on two groups of elementary school students in Montreal, Canada.
After the kids adopted “healthier sleep habits” and got an additional 18.2 minutes sleep every night, their maths and English marks went up by more than 2% compared to their previous marks.
Their grades in physical education also got better.
Reut Gruber, one of the report’s authors and the director of Attention Behavior and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute told Today it’s paramount parents make sleep a priority for their children.
“Make sure they go to bed at a time that allows them sufficient sleep duration even in the presence of competing activities and priorities such as extracurricular activities, social and family events or even school work,” she said.
“Sleep should not be negotiated every night but there should be a consistent bedtime,” she said.
“Weekend [bedtime] should not be more than about one hour later than week nights and ideally should be just the same if possible.”
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