This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
Published on November 1, 2019, a study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) meeting highlighted the alarming rate of sleep deprivation among children. The study, which analyzed data from 49,050 children aged 6 to 17, found that 31.9% of adolescents did not get enough sleep, as defined by the AAP guidelines of at least eight hours a night for teenagers.
Dr. Hoi See Tsao, a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Hasbro Children's Hospital, led the study. She became interested in the topic after noticing that many of her students were tired in class during her teaching days. The researchers found that adolescents who did not get enough sleep had a 34% increase in the odds of not showing interest or curiosity about learning new things, a 34% increase in the odds of not staying calm when faced with a challenge, and a 36% increase in the odds of not doing all their required homework.
Younger children who did not get sufficient sleep also had higher chances of not showing these flourishing markers. Their parents were 61% more likely to report that they did not show interest in learning new things. Dr. Tsao emphasized that this study reinforces the importance of having children get enough sleep, setting good bedtime routines, and creating a good sleep environment.
She suggested that this may involve changes in the home, community-level advocacy, changes in the school system, and a rethinking of how fully scheduled the days of children and adolescents ought to be. The consequences of sleep deprivation in adolescence include daytime fatigue, poor concentration, and an increased tendency toward bad judgment.
