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Study: Children who sleep less than nine hours fall behind in school
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Ramon Llull University (both in Spain) have found that children aged six to seven who sleep less than nine hours, go to bed late and do not stick to a routine fall behind in school.
According to scientists, most children sleep less than recommended for proper intellectual development, and this is bad because lack of sleep cannot be compensated for.
The study involved 142 primary school students (65 girls and 77 boys) who had no pathological changes associated with sleep. The children's parents filled out questionnaires with questions about their habits and the duration of their nighttime sleep. The specialists also assessed several of the children's academic skills: communicative, methodological, transversal and specific.
Although the children averaged nearly eight hours of sleep a night, their schedules were far from perfect: 69 percent of the subjects went home after 9 p.m. at least three times a week or went to bed after 11 p.m. at least four times a week. Students who slept eight or nine hours performed worse academically than those who slept nine or 11 hours.
Sleep deprivation and poor habits have a negative impact on many general skills that play an important role in academic performance. However, specific cognitive skills such as memory, learning, and motivation are less affected by sleep deprivation; they are more dependent on poor sleep patterns.
Thus, scientists conclude that a night's sleep lasting more than nine hours and maintaining a sleep schedule have a beneficial effect on academic performance, as well as on the cognitive development of children.
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