Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Irregularbedtimescurbyoungkids'brainpower:AndmayhaveknockoneffectsonhealththroughoutlifeScienceDaily
Yoursourceforthelatestresearchnews
Irregularbedtimescurbyoungkids'brainpower:Andmayhave
knockoneffectsonhealththroughoutlife
Date:
Source:
Summary:
July8,2013
BMJBritishMedicalJournal
Goingtobedatdifferenttimeseverynightthroughoutearlychildhoodseemstocurbchildren's
brainpower,findsalarge,longtermstudy.
FULLSTORY
Newresearchfindsthatgoingtobedatdifferenttimesevery
nightthroughoutearlychildhoodseemstocurbchildren'sbrain
power.
Credit:irinabozkaya/Fotolia
Goingtobedatdifferenttimeseverynightthroughoutearlychildhoodseemstocurb
children'sbrainpower,findsalarge,longtermstudypublishedonlineintheJournalof
EpidemiologyandCommunityHealth.
Giventheimportanceofearlychildhooddevelopmentonsubsequenthealth,theremaybeknockoneffects
acrossthelifecourse,suggesttheauthors.
Theauthorslookedatwhetherbedtimesinearlychildhoodwererelatedtobrainpowerinmorethan11,000
sevenyearolds,allofwhomwerepartoftheUKMillenniumCohortStudy(MCS).
MCSisanationallyrepresentativelongtermstudyofUKchildrenbornbetweenSeptember2000andJanuary
2002,andtheresearchdrewonregularsurveysandhomevisitsmadewhenthechildrenwere3,5,and7,to
findoutaboutfamilyroutines,includingbedtimes.
Theauthorswantedtoknowwhetherthetimeachildwenttobed,andtheconsistencyofbedtimes,hadany
impactonintellectualperformance,measuredbyvalidatedtestscoresforreading,maths,andspatial
awareness.
Andtheywantedtoknowiftheeffectswerecumulativeand/orwhetheranyparticularperiodsduringearly
childhoodweremorecriticalthanothers.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130708200158.htm
1/3
8/15/2016
Irregularbedtimescurbyoungkids'brainpower:AndmayhaveknockoneffectsonhealththroughoutlifeScienceDaily
Irregularbedtimesweremostcommonattheageof3,whenaroundoneinfivechildrenwenttobedatvarying
times.Bytheageof7,morethanhalfthechildrenwenttobedregularlybetween7.30and8.30pm.
Childrenwhosebedtimeswereirregularorwhowenttobedafter9pmcamefrommoresociallydisadvantaged
backgrounds,thefindingsshowed.
Whentheywere7,girlswhohadirregularbedtimeshadlowerscoresonallthreeaspectsofintellectassessed,
aftertakingaccountofotherpotentiallyinfluentialfactors,thanchildrenwithregularbedtimes.Butthiswasnot
thecasein7yearoldboys.
Irregularbedtimesbytheageof5werenotassociatedwithpoorerbrainpoweringirlsorboysattheageof7.
Butirregularbedtimesat3yearsofagewereassociatedwithlowerscoresinreading,maths,andspatial
awarenessinbothboysandgirls,suggestingthataroundtheageof3couldbeasensitiveperiodforcognitive
development.
Theimpactofirregularbedtimesseemedtobecumulative.
Girlswhohadneverhadregularbedtimesatages3,5,and7hadsignificantlylowerreading,mathsandspatial
awarenessscoresthangirlswhohadhadconsistentbedtimes.Theimpactwasthesameinboys,butforany
twoofthethreetimepoints.
Theauthorspointoutthatirregularbedtimescoulddisruptnaturalbodyrhythmsandcausesleepdeprivation,
sounderminingtheplasticityofthebrainandtheabilitytoacquireandretaininformation.
"Sleepisthepricewepayforplasticityonthepriordayandtheinvestmentneededtoallowlearningfreshthe
nextday,"theywrite.Andtheyadd:"Earlychilddevelopmenthasprofoundinfluencesonhealthandwellbeing
acrossthelifecourse.Therefore,reducedordisruptedsleep,especiallyifitoccursatkeytimesindevelopment,
couldhaveimportantimpactsonhealththroughoutlife."
StorySource:
TheabovepostisreprintedfrommaterialsprovidedbyBMJBritishMedicalJournal.Note:Contentmaybe
editedforstyleandlength.
JournalReference:
1. Y.Kelly,J.Kelly,A.Sacker.Timeforbed:associationswithcognitiveperformancein7yearold
children:alongitudinalpopulationbasedstudy.JournalofEpidemiology&CommunityHealth,2013
DOI:10.1136/jech2012202024
CiteThisPage:
MLA
APA
Chicago
BMJBritishMedicalJournal."Irregularbedtimescurbyoungkids'brainpower:Andmayhaveknockoneffects
onhealththroughoutlife."ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,8July2013.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130708200158.htm>.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130708200158.htm
2/3
8/15/2016
Irregularbedtimescurbyoungkids'brainpower:AndmayhaveknockoneffectsonhealththroughoutlifeScienceDaily
RecommendedArticles
Gotobed:Irregularbedtimeslinkedtobehavioralproblemsinchildren
UniversityCollegeLondonUCL,ScienceDaily,2013
Regularbedtimeslinkedtobetterlanguage,readingandmathskillsinpreschoolchildren
AmericanAcademyofSleepMedicine,ScienceDaily,2010
Mathstorytimeathomebolstersachievementinschool
UniversityofChicago,ScienceDaily,2015
Earlypreschoolbedtimescutriskofobesitylateron
OhioStateUniversity,ScienceDaily,2016
Mathandme:Childrenwhoidentifywithmathgethigherscores
UniversityofWashington,ScienceDaily,2015
BadBedtimeRoutinesEarlyInChildren'sLivesMayStuntLaterBrainPower
HonorWhiteman,MedicalNewsToday,2013
Irregularbedtimeslinkedtokids'behavioralproblems
MedicalNewsToday,2013
Technologyinkidsbedroomsdisruptssleeppatterns
HonorWhiteman,MedicalNewsToday,2013
Childhoodsleepdisorders:howdotheyaffecthealthandwellbeing?
HonorWhiteman,MedicalNewsToday,2015
Interactionbetweenreducedsleepandchildhoodobesityfurtherexamined
DavidMcNamee,MedicalNewsToday,2014
Poweredby
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130708200158.htm
3/3