The Parent Report: Sleep And Learning
BOSTON (CBS) - Pre-school kids with regular bedtimes are better learners.
[Audio https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/i/cbslocal/wp-content/uploads/sites/3859903/2010/12/december-30-2010-the-parent-report.mp3|titles=Sleep And Learning|artists=Doug Cope]
Pre-schoolers who sleep better are better learners, according to a study done by S.R.I. International, founded by Stanford University.
Doctor Erika Gaylor, an Early Childhood Policy Researcher, is the study's lead author, and she found 4-year-olds who get 11 hours of sleep a night often do better in a wide range of developmental skills, and parental controls are essential to that success.
The sleep habits of 8,000 children were studied. The study re-enforces previous research, which reported children with a bedtime after 9 p.m. took longer to fall asleep, and had a shorter total sleep time. Gaylor says consistency of sleep is the key, along with those parental controls.
Parents are also urged to interact with their children at bedtime using routines such as reading books, or telling stories.
