{"id":114,"date":"2018-10-02T11:27:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T15:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/?p=114"},"modified":"2018-10-02T11:27:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T15:27:02","slug":"the-secret-weapon-for-school-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/2018\/10\/02\/the-secret-weapon-for-school-success\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secret Weapon for School Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The secret weapon for school success<\/strong><\/p>\n

What research reveals about sleep deprivation and its consequences for academic achievement.<\/p>\n

by:\u00a0GreatSchools Staff<\/em><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0September 30, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Print article<\/em><\/p>\n

Is your child having behavior problems and trouble in school? Making sure she gets enough sleep may be the solution.<\/p>\n

Lack of sleep is a national epidemic for today\u2019s children, and the consequences are serious.<\/p>\n

Sleep deprivation can affect cognitive skills and academic achievement. A continuing lack of sleep is linked to serious health problems including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, depression, and a shortened life span.<\/p>\n

Why aren\u2019t kids getting enough sleep?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Children ages 6 to 13 need about 9 to 11 hours of sleep, according to the\u00a0National Sleep Foundation<\/a>. Yet studies show that most kids are getting about an hour less sleep each night than they did 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

Why? Extracurricular activities, such as sports teams and arts programs, may schedule events at night. Working parents who get home late may feel guilty and want to spend time with their children in the evening. Too much homework and the many distractions of television, video games, and computers all play a role. In addition, all the pressures and stresses of today\u2019s frenetic lifestyles may make it difficult for kids to calm down so they can fall asleep.<\/p>\n

Catching up on sleep is not a good option<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parents may think they\u2019ll let their children catch up on sleep on the weekend. But sleep experts at the Mayo Clinic advise against this practice as irregular sleep schedules can affect the biological clock, hurt the quality of sleep and cause greater irritability. Children who sleep in on the weekend may have an even harder time getting up for school on Monday morning, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It\u2019s better, the experts say, to keep similar schedules during the week and on the weekends.<\/p>\n

Make sleep a priority<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, teacher, parent educator, and author of\u00a0Sleepless in America<\/em>, says parents can play a key role by placing a high value on their children\u2019s sleep. She says the first step for parents is to \u201cmake sleep a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScientific research links heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity with lack of sleep. There\u2019s also a study out of the University of Michigan,\u201d adds Kurcinka, \u201cthat shows that 20 to 25 % of kids with ADHD have sleep disorders. Sleep is not a luxury. This is about health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some parents may think that their child isn\u2019t sleeping much because he just doesn\u2019t need as much sleep as other children. But Kurcinka doesn\u2019t buy that argument. She says, \u201cWhen I hear a parent say, \u2018He is a kid who doesn\u2019t need sleep,\u2019 generally this means he is a kid who can\u2019t sleep. He needs help learning to calm himself to get to sleep. If I see a child who has behavior problems, can\u2019t focus or pay attention, a child who\u2019s getting sick a lot, craving carbohydrates, I\u2019ll want to look at how much sleep he\u2019s getting. Maybe the child is just exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lack of sleep is linked to a multitude of problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several studies presented at Sleep 2007, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, highlighted some of the adverse effects caused by lack of sleep \u2014 aggressive behavior and bullying, poor grades, poor attention span, disruptions in cognitive and linguistic function including the skills necessary for reading and language development. A few scientists theorize that sleep problems at a young age can cause permanent changes in a child\u2019s brain structure.<\/p>\n

Lack of sleep may be the cause of behavior problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes lack of sleep will be the reason behind temper tantrums, morning meltdowns and irritable behavior. Your child may not be able to tell you that\u2019s the problem and you may not see it because a tired child may become a wired child-full of energy. \u201cIt\u2019s as though their body is out of control,\u201d says Kurcinka. \u201cAnd it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kurcinka says parents need to set limits on extracurricular activities and computer time, and become advocates at their school for reducing the amount of homework, and encouraging schools to adopt later start times.<\/p>\n

More and more children lack sleep \u2014 a disturbing trend<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kurcinka argues that lack of sleep among children is more common now than ever before and attributes this trend to three factors: science, safety, and achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cScience \u2014 The research on early brain development and the importance of brain stimulation has meant kids are overstimulated starting at a young age. They begin by watching \u2018Baby Einstein\u2019 videos and continue from there. Safety-parents are afraid to let kids go out and play so they provide more structured activities which tend to be organized around adult hours and schedules. Achievement-so much is competitive and overly achievement oriented for kids, from soccer to gymnastics to academics.\u201d<\/p>\n

To counter these factors, Kurcinka says, parents should \u201ccreate an environment that values sleep and is conducive to it. The bottom line is that parents of children who are successful have a secret weapon \u2014 they protect their kids\u2019 sleep. Kids who get more sleep have higher grade-point averages. In a study reported in the journal,\u00a0Child Development,<\/em>\u00a0in 2003 entitled \u2018The Effects of Sleep Restriction and Extension on School-Age Children: What a Difference an Hour Makes,\u2019 Tel Aviv University researcher Avi Sadeh found that even 41 minutes less sleep each night can affect memory and attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Managing sleep patterns begins in the morning<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kurcinka says managing sleep problems and controlling stress levels begins in the morning by making time for a peaceful family breakfast. She sees it as a way to take time to sit and talk, to \u201ccheck in\u201d and connect with your child. By starting the day without rushing, you set a calm tone for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

Avoiding bedtime battles<\/strong><\/p>\n

To avoid bedtime battles at night, Kurcinka advocates establishing a calming, predictable bedtime routine attuned to your child\u2019s needs that will help her wind down. In her book,\u00a0Sleepless in America,<\/em>she compares the process of getting your child to bed to landing a jumbo jet:<\/p>\n

\u201cLanding a jumbo jet is not a simple process. Miles from their destination, the pilots begin to prepare. They check the weather, determine which runway to utilize, the level of instrumentation to use on approach as well as the optimal speed. Once those decisions are made, they start to configure the aircraft appropriately\u2026What the crew is trained to know is that conscientious preparation and a gradual descent lead to a soft landing and satisfied customers. When it comes to bedtime, most children are like those jumbo jets. Their days are often spent \u2018flying\u2019 from one activity to another, and they need to gradually \u2018glide\u2019 from the \u2018high\u2019 of their day to a \u2018soft landing\u2019 in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spending 20 minutes with your child before bedtime in a soothing activity, such as reading, quietly catching up on the day\u2019s activities, or telling stories, can help provide the calm that will help your child transition to going to sleep. Adjusting the routine, depending on your child\u2019s mood and needs, (just as the pilot adjusts the plane\u2019s landing pattern depending on the weather) will help, too. Some days kids just need a little more connection and attention.<\/p>\n

Seven ways to be your child\u2019s sleep advocate<\/strong><\/p>\n