I watched an episode of Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance (Channel 4) last night. They had conducted some research into the importance of sleep - for older kids, age 9-10. For the first week, children were allowed to choose their bedtime, but had to be in bed by 11pm. Not surprisngly all the children chose to sleep at 11pm. At the end of the week they tested their intelligence, and the average mental age was only 7. The following week they all had to be in bed at 7.30, lights out by 8pm. All TVs and gadgets were removed from their bedrooms. When tested at the end of this week the average mental age had rised to 12!
I know kids misbehave when they are tired but had no idea it had such a marked effect on their performance.
It is also very important for brain development for younger children. Adults need 8 hours to function properly. A lack of sleep has the same effect as drinking alcohol. There have also been studies that show adults can lose/maintain weight better if they get at least 8 hours of sleep.
And there is often a pattern: the more sleep you lack, the less able you are to fall asleep.
My daughter never slept much during the day, and she always wakes up crying. Now as soon as i hear her wake up, I rush to the bedroom, take her to my bed and she goes straight back to bed for an extra 30mn. It makes a huge difference and she wakes up fine the next time around.
We always make sure my son is in bed by no later then 8:30 during the week. Otherwise the mornings are terrible even if he’s in bed a half hour later. He’s grumpy and disobediant