It is essential to convey the importance of rest to students: not only does poor rest negatively influence academic performance, but good rest can do wonders for school results. As a parent, teacher or student, know these facts about the influence of rest on academic performance It will help you get better results.
The effects of irregular sleep
A study carried out by the Complutense University of Madrid in adolescents between 12 and 16 years old, proves that sleep irregularly (fewer hours on weekdays and more on weekends) results in lower cognitive and academic performance, in verbal, spatial, numerical and general reasoning cognitive skills.
In the case of girls, a greater alteration was seen in all skills except verbal fluency, while in boys a generalized worse performance was seen, especially in inductive reasoning and numerical aptitude.
Lack of sleep in children children under 12 years of age can cause significant decrease in learning, since decreases of up to 40% in the ability to assimilate knowledge have been reported. It is also very common that in classrooms where there are a greater number of children who do not rest well, the aggressiveness increase
Irregular rest can result in changes in mood, anxiety, stress and sleep disorders. The sleep patterns we adopt in childhood and adolescence are directly reflected in adulthood: that is why it continues to affect the performance of university students.
What I can do?
These are some of the most important things to keep in mind to improve academic performance and rest for yourself and your children.
Monitor sleep hours: Depending on age, each person will need to sleep a specific number of hours. For children from 0 to 5 years old, between 10 and 15 hours a day is recommended; For children from 6 to 12 years old, between 9 and 12 hours a day is recommended. In adults, the healthiest would be between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a day.
It's not worth sleeping a lot if you don't sleep well: The quality of rest during sleeping hours is the most important thing to have a restful sleep. Therefore, it is vital to achieve deep relaxation. Don't skimp: A good mattress can be miraculous for your rest.
Try to organize study hours around rest and not the other way around: when the workload becomes greater over time, it is common for students to reduce their sleep hours to study for the next exam or finish the next project. Don't make that mistake: by estimating the hours of work that each activity will require and organizing yourself in advance, You can study everything you need without having to lose rest time.
A series of good habits before sleeping will be your best ally to avoid insomnia and stressful situations.
All this, beyond the educational sector, It also applies to work: You should not only worry about your children's performance and rest, but also about your own, since poor quality rest can affect your work performance.
The less you sleep, the less you perform.
Sources:
https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/media/www/pag-10588/2015_10_not8.pdf
