A feature article in New York Magazine a little over a month ago asked this troubling question: "Can a Lack of Sleep Set Back Your Child's Cognitive Abilities?" It's obviously a rhetorical question, but the recent research is terrifying nonetheless. Apparently, kids are getting on average one hour less sleep each night than kids did 30 years ago. In the article Po Bronson notes, "Because children’s brains are a work-in-progress until the age of 21, and because much of that work is done while a child is asleep, this lost hour appears to have an exponential impact on children that it simply doesn’t have on adults."
What does that impact look like? Here are a few of the revelations from the article:
- "The performance gap caused by an hour's difference in sleep was bigger than the normal gap between a fourth-grader and a sixth-grader."
- "Sleep disorders can impair children's I.Q.'s as much as lead exposure."
- A school district in Lexington, Kentucky, "moved its start time an hour later. After the time change, teenage car accidents in Lexington were down 16 percent. The rest of the state showed a 9 percent rise."
- "sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories yet recall gloomy memories just fine."
- "Five years ago, already aware of an association between sleep apnea and diabetes, Dr. Eve Van Cauter at the University of Chicago discovered a 'neuroendocrine cascade' that links [lack of] sleep to obesity."
Abandon All Hope?
With the mounting evidence that we, and especially our kids, need more sleep, we're confronted with the challenge to undo years of lifestyle choice and habit. Fortunately, Ashley Merryman, in an accompanying article, suggests a number of ways to get our kids to sleep more. I was pleasantly surprised as I read it, because it goes beyond the clichés and superficial fixes to offer some really useful advice.
Not So Fast
Just when I was getting used to having one more thing to be anxious about, I came across an article in the New York Times last week: The Sleep-Industrial Complex. While not addressing children directly, it casts doubt on some of the recent claims about our need for sleep. The article blames drug companies and mattress salespeople for contributing to our lack of sleep. In their efforts to sell solutions to sleep problems, they're making people more anxious about their sleep, which in turn makes people less likely to overcome their sleep problems without the aid of drugs (or a new mattress?). Ah, the vicious cycle.
The one thing that can help us sleep well at night, according to the article, is a change of attitude. Apparently, behavioral-cognitive therapy really works here. The less we're worried about our sleep, the better our sleep will be. Sounds like a truism to me.
Free Advice
Now that I've read these articles on sleep, I feel fully qualified to give everyone expert advice. Ever the altruist, I offer my surefire strategy for optimum well-being in three easy steps (and it's completely free!):
- Being awake is for fools. Try to sleep as much as humanly possible. Eight hours a night is a good start, but 18 is better.
- Remove all connections with the outside world. Any semblance of a social life will only interfere with your main objective, blissful slumber
- Stop worrying, or you'll ruin your life! Now! Quit perseverating on how little sleep you're getting! Thinking about it is only making it worse! Relax. Your sleep problems are your own fault. RELAX!
Sweet dreams.
All hail, Karl, for such stellar free advice. Better than any 3-point Calvinistic sermon I ever heard while growing up. Perhaps if I heed, my misanthropic traits will be mitigated, or even disappear altogether (not likely). I'll give it a try and report back in a few weeks.
I know the article was talking about the IQ-sleep link in children, but I am quite certain that I have dropped at least 10 IQ points since the birth of our daughter 2 and a half years ago (haven't figured out how to get to bed early, and the wee one is up with the birds). It isn't easy being dim (yawn)!