News paper: CNN.com

Article type: Health/ Sleep

Author: Leslie Wade

Have you ever pondered on the fact that sleep really does make a large impact on how your day goes. After reading an article on CNN.com about how children tend to work better socially and intellectually when running on more sleep, you really are able to work better. You may even want to change your own sleeping habits.

A few scientists conducted an experiment to chart how sleep can effect us on a daily basis. Two groups of children (ages 4-16) were taken, half going to bed at 7:45 pm and waking up at 7:00 am. The second group was sent to bed at a later time of 10:00 pm and was woken up at 7:00 am as well. By the end of the day the children’s teachers reported back and the results were shocking.

The children that went to bed early the night before were well functioning and active from the moment they got to school, up until they left. They participated more and also seemed to process what the teacher was saying more easily and fluently from the other kids who may not have gotten as much sleep.

On the other hand, the participants who had gone to bed late the night before, had different results. They were much less eager to get out of bed and start the day, once at school, most were grouchy and emotional and became frustrated far more quickly. The participants also were noted to take a longer time to process and understand the material throughout the day.

Personally, I believe sleep is a very important part of our lives and in order to live happy and healthy, we need sleep. After asking my mom what she thought of this article, her and I both agreed that our bed times were to change a great amount, and that it is very important to get enough sleep.