How is it defined?
Sleep is critical for healthy growth and development, and is positively associated with a variety of physical, mental and wellness outcomes (Chaput et al., 2016). Healthy sleep is integral to a child’s success in school, with research indicating that sleep impacts one’s memory, potential to learn, and academic achievement (Curcio et al., 2006). For optimum benefit, school aged children should sleep between 9 to 11 hours per night, while teenagers should have between 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night; thus, it is important for children and parents to be informed of the importance of healthy sleep practices (Paruthi et al., 2016).
The Learning Bar’s framework on Physical Health Outcomes includes measures of nutrition, physical fitness, sleep, risky behaviours (use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs), and sexual health. Sleep measures the number of hours students sleep each night and how often they have trouble falling asleep.
Why is it important?
-
Healthy sleep duration is linked to student improvements in attention, executive functioning, and emotional regulation (Paruthi et al., 2016).
-
A third of children receive less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age group (Wheaton & Claussen, 2021).
-
Inadequate sleep quality and quantity are associated with poor school performance (Ming et al., 2011).
How do we measure it?
In the OurSCHOOL elementary and secondary school surveys, students are asked to indicate how many hours of sleep they get on a typical night. Secondary results are reported as “the percentage of students who are getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night”, and elementary results are reported as “the percentage of students who are getting at least 9 hours of hours of sleep each night.” Students are also asked how often they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep in a normal week and the frequency of each response option is presented.
References
Chaput, J. P., Gray, C. E., Poitras, V. J., Carson, V., Gruber, R., Olds, T., Weiss S. K., Connor Gorber S., Kho M. E., Sampson M., Belanger K., Eryuzlu S., Callender L., & Tremblay, M. S. (2016). Systematic review of the relationships between sleep duration and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 41(6 Suppl. 3), S266-S282.
Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10(5), 323-337.
Ming, X., Koransky, R., Kang, V., Buchman, S., Sarris, C. E., & Wagner, G. C. (2011). Sleep insufficiency, sleep health problems and performance in high school students. Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine, 5, 71-79.
Paruthi, S., Brooks, L. J., D'Ambrosio, C., Hall, W. A., Kotagal, S., Lloyd, R. M., ... & Wise, M. S. (2016). Consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the recommended amount of sleep for healthy children: Methodology and discussion. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(11), 1549-1561.
Wheaton, A. G., & Claussen, A. H. (2021). Short sleep duration among infants, children, and adolescents aged 4 months–17 years—United States, 2016–2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(38), 1315-1321.