Education

Four-Year-Olds Need Their Sleep to Perform Well, Study Says

June 17, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Educators have long known the amount of sleep high school students get can affect their academic performance, but a new study shows sleep is important even for the youngest learners.

Four-year-olds who have a regular bed time and sleep at least 11 hours a night performed better on developmental measures. Those 4-year-olds with less sleep had lower test scores in abilities in language, reading, and math skills, according to SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute in Menlo Park, Calif.

“Getting parents to set bedtime routines can be an important way to make a significant impact on children’s emergent literacy and language skills,” said lead author Erika Gaylor, an early-childhood-policy researcher at SRI. “Pediatricians can easily promote regular bedtimes with parents and children, behaviors which in turn lead to healthy sleep.”

The study looks at a nationally representative sample of about 8,000 children who completed a direct assessment at age 4 as part of the government’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Parents were interviewed by phone when their children were 9-months-old, and again when their child was 4.

The research was presented last week, in San Antonio, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Early Years blog.

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz What is a Project 2025 Author Doing at the Education Department? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 11, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
5 min read
Education Quiz What Is the #1 Factor Boosting Students' STEM Motivation? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 4, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read