March 17, 2023
One of the keys to keeping your child happy and healthy is making sure they get enough sleep consistently, a new study has found.
That’s no surprise to parents, right? But it turns out even 39 minutes can make a difference, the results showed.
In the study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, researchers monitored 100 children ages 8 to 12 living in New Zealand. 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 and impairment during the day. Researchers also administered a survey to the children about their health-related quality of life.
The kids who participated in the study regularly slept between eight and 11 hours a night and were considered generally healthy, the study said.