Situation Wanted: Well-Rested Students

Maybe all those kids going dozing off in class aren't doing it because the lessons are boring, but because someone at home isn't making sure they're getting enough sleep:

Staying up an hour or two past bedtime makes it far harder for kids to learn, say scientists who deprived youngsters of sleep and tested whether their teachers could tell the difference.

They could.

If parents want their children to thrive academically, "Getting them to sleep on time is as important as getting them to school on time," said psychologist Gahan Fallone, who conducted the research at Brown Medical School. [Ed's Note: Click on image to enlarge].

The study, unveiled Thursday at an American Medical Association science writers meeting, was conducted on healthy children who had no evidence of sleep- or learning-related disorders.

Difficulty paying attention was among the problems the sleepy youngsters faced -- raising the question of whether sleep deprivation could prove even worse for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Now if someone would just do a study that would show us educators ways of persuading parents to ensure that their kids came to school well-rested, and with their homework finished. ----------------------------Visit the latest midway of The Carnival Of Education here, and our latest posts over there.