THROUGH various delaying tactics, games and sheer obstinacy, children often manage to push their bedtime back by an hour. But even this limited restriction on their sleep is enough to impair their brain function – and may affect school performance.
In a study of fourth- and sixth-graders, half of a group of 77 children were asked to go to bed an hour earlier and half stayed up an hour later than their usual bedtime for three days in a row. (An hour is considered a modest manipulation of sleep time similar to what actually might happen in most households.)