More sleep can reduce impulsive behavior in children: Study

Sleep is a vital aspect of a child’s general health, but it can also influence their behaviour. According to a new study from the University of Georgia’s Youth Development Institute, obtaining adequate sleep can help children cope with the consequences of stressful surroundings. “Stressful environments are shown to make adolescents seek immediate rewards rather than delayed rewards, but there are also adolescents who are in stressful environments who are not impulsive,” said lead author Linhao Zhang, a fourth-year doctoral student in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “We looked at what explains that link and what makes some people differ from others. One mechanism we found is sleep.” Researchers examined data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which included 11,858 children aged 9 to 10, and discovered that a lack of sleep and a long sleep latency—the amount of time it takes to fall asleep—had a substantial link to impulsive behaviours later in life.