Researchers from Cambridge University and Fudan University in Shanghai have discovered that sleep duration significantly affects brain function in adolescents. The fieldwork for the study was conducted among 1,190 participants, 13-14-year-olds. In one study, researchers looked at the cognitive performance of children as a function of their average sleep duration.
To keep things simple, the researchers assigned children to three groups based on how long they slept each night. Clocking an average of seven hours and 10 minutes of sleep, the first group. The other group did a little better, averaging seven hours and 21 minutes, but it was the third group that really shined, averaging seven hours and 25 minutes. Those findings were predictive, the most slept-on group performed the best cognitively. Specifically, they were outpacing their peers in reading, vocabulary and problem-solving skills.
Dr. Qing Ma from Fudan University emphasized the potential benefits of adequate sleep, stating, “Although our study can’t answer conclusively whether young people have better brain function and perform better at tests because they sleep better, there are a number of studies that would support this idea.” This points to the increasing amount of evidence connecting sleep quality and length with cognitive performance.
Prof. Barbara Sahakian from Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry noted that even minor increases in sleep duration could influence brain structure and activity. “We could still see differences in brain structure and activity and in how well they did at tasks,” she explained. Furthermore, she underscored the importance of adequate sleep during adolescence, stating, “This drives home to us just how important it is to have a good night’s sleep at this important time in life.”
The study identified a concerning trend. The first group, which had the shortest average sleep duration, exhibited the smallest brain volume and the poorest cognitive functioning. Children with less sleep performed worse on a variety of measures of brain function. There were few differences in school outcomes between the three cohorts.
Third, Dr. Wei Cheng made a very important point about sleep habits in adolescents. Considering sleep’s critical role, the next step is to understand why some children have later bedtimes and less sleep than their peers. Or is it the impact of video games and smartphones? Or is it just that their body clocks don’t tell them it’s time to sleep until later? This set of questions points to a strong need for additional research into the factors affecting adolescent sleep patterns.
This study provides a window to critical implications. Improving sleep would have a profound positive impact on memory and cognitive function as well as physical health, including heart rate control. Scientists are still figuring out what impact sleep has on our brains. Their results underscore the importance of fostering environments that empower adolescents to prioritize quality sleep.
