All in a night’s work: How sleep shapes tomorrow’s learning

From bedtime battles to moody mornings, two local researchers help unpack what parents need to know about their children’s sleep health. They also debunk adult myths about sleep that may be keeping our young ones from restful slumber.
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As part of the Grow Well SG movement, families are encouraged to build strong daily habits that help children thrive. Research shows that children need more rest than adults often realise; it supports brain development, emotion regulation and the ability to focus in school.

But as children grow more independent, sleep can slip down the priority list. That’s why it’s important for parents to help build healthy routines early. To support parents in doing that, we asked two experts – Associate Professor Joshua J Gooley, a sleep scientist at Duke-NUS Medical School, and Professor John Wang Chee Keng, a chartered sport and exercise psychologist and physical activity and sedentary behavioural researcher at the National Institute of Education – to tackle some common sleep myths and share research-backed advice for families.

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As a father of two, Associate Professor Joshua Gooley from Duke-NUS Medical School knows it’s not always easy to get children to go to bed early. However, he still tries to get his children into a routine from an early age.

1. “My child seems okay on just 6 hours of sleep.”

Children might power through the day, but that doesn’t mean they are thriving. “Just one night of inadequate sleep will result in a drop in attention performance the next day,” says Assoc Prof Gooley.

Lack of sleep also shows up in different ways for kids. For example, they could struggle to focus or manage their impulses and become more irritable. When sleep deprivation becomes chronic, it takes a toll on their mental well-being. “It’s a vicious circle,” says Prof Wang. “In the long term, moodiness may kick in. If you’re not in a good mood chronically, then it’s also hard to have positive relationships with others. On top of that, their academic performance may drop. Then they’ll feel anxious trying to improve their grades, but they can’t, because their cognitive functions are hindered.”

Biologically, children need more sleep, notes Assoc Prof Gooley. “Their brain just needs more sleep to grow, recover and retain new information,” he explains. “We know that when you’re well-rested, your attention is much better. And attention is the starting point for everything else that follows.”

As a father of two children, he knows it isn’t so straightforward, of course. “It doesn’t matter that I’m a sleep researcher. My kids also want to go to bed later than they should,” he muses. “So, there is a struggle sometimes. But we try to get them into a routine from an early age: that going to bed late is not what we do as a family.”

2. “They can sleep in on weekends to make up for it.”

Weekend lie-ins help a little, but they don’t fix the problem. “Think of sleep as an investment,” says Prof Wang. “If you sleep well for the first eight hours, you’re able to function well for the next eight.” He suggests building routines during the school week and adding 15 to 20 minutes more sleep at night where possible. “Parents can try to set this routine with their kids from young,” he adds.

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Professor John Wang from the National Institute of Education shares that sleep deprivation takes a toll on children’s mental well-being, affecting their social relationships and academic performance in the long run.

3. “Naps make up for sleeping late.”

Naps can be helpful if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. For young kids, afternoon naps are also a common practice from preschool days. “But it’s not a good replacement for getting long, deep sleep at night,” says Assoc Prof Gooley.

Sleep gets deeper and more restorative the more hours one spends asleep. “The students who are getting longer sleep, better sleep, are actually in a better position to learn,” he adds.

4. “If they sleep more, they are being lazy.”

Often, children who sleep in are trying to recover from sleep loss. “I don’t think this is evidence of so-called oversleeping, because it is the body’s way of trying to catch up on sleep. This is different from people who spend long amounts of time in bed all the time, which may be related to an underlying medical problem,” Assoc Prof Gooley shares. For our children, longer sleep during the holidays or weekends may be their body’s way of catching up from debt accumulated from the school term.

5. “There’s just not enough time in the day.”

Time management is a common struggle for families, but sleep shouldn’t be deprioritised. For parents, every day’s schedule is packed and the to-do list only grows, but Prof Wang reminds us that: “All of us only have 24 hours in a day.”

Between an enrichment class and sleep, families need to resist the urge to choose the former. “Sleep is just as important a commitment as any other item in a student’s schedule,” says Assoc Prof Gooley.

Parents play a key role in helping children prioritise rest: dim the lights, reduce screen time before bed and stick to a consistent routine. “For example, parents can suggest their child cut down on use of mobile phones or gaming by 10 minutes and help them organise their time so they get into that fixed routine,” Prof Wang adds. “Help your kids protect their sleep.”