It is obvious that young children who have difficulties sleeping are likely to have problems in school. A new study shows that African-American children and children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds fare worse than their counterparts when their sleep is disrupted.
The study offers one of the first demonstrations that the relationship between children's performance and sleep may differ among children of different backgrounds. Conducted by researchers at Auburn University and Notre Dame University, it is published in the January/February 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.
The study looked at 166 8- and 9-year-old African-American and European-American children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The children's sleep habits were measured through wristwatch-sized activity monitors they wore during sleep for one week, sleep diaries of bedtimes and wake-up times, and reports of sleep quality and sleep-related problems such as sleepiness during the day. The children also were given individual cognitive tests measuring a range of mental functions related to school achievement.