A study from Brigham Young University reported in The Eastern Economics Journal that teenagers who sleep seven hours, compared to nine hours of sleep, perform better academically. This study conducted by Eric Eide and Mark Showalter, economics professor, contradicts federal guidelines, stating teenagers should sleep as much as they need to.
National guidelines suggest that teenagers should sleep at least eight hours per night. However, these guidelines are thought to be based off surveys from the 1970s. In fact, the study found reducing sleep to seven hours could improve a teenagers performance in education and health.
In this study, researchers examined a potential link between sleep duration and academic performance. By surveying 1,724 primary and secondary teeneagers across the U.S., they were able to collect information from a national representative sample of teenagers. As a result, they found that sleep duration does influence how well a teenager performs on standardized academic tests, but the evidence did not support the notion that more sleep for teenagers is always better.
For 10-year old schoolchildren, the optimal amount of sleep was calculated to be nine to nine and a half hours per night. For 12-year-old schoolchildren, the optimal amount of sleep was eight to eight and a half hours per night. For 16-year-old teenagers, the optimal amount of sleep was seven hours per night. The amount of sleep required to perform well academically appeared to decrease, as age increased.
Sleep is important to child development. However, extremes to sleep, either sleep deprivation or oversleeping, can cause serious health consequences.
