Children who get a good night’s sleep ‘have better memories’

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I read with great interest today an article in The Daily Mail around some new research that suggests that children who get a good night’s sleep have a  boosted memory!

The findings could explain why children who  do not sleep well do not do as well in school.

Children were more effectively able to convert‘implicit’ knowledge into ‘explicit,’ which often happens in learning, than adults according to researchers from the University of Tuebingen,  Germany.

Over the past couple of years BU’s Dr Andrew Mayers in the School of Design, Engineering and Computing, has been working with Bouremouth primary schools to try and reduce sleep problems in school children.

Working in schools, sleep is probably the most common problem that is reported by teachers, head-teachers and staff, and Andrew stresses the importance of all children receiving enough sleep to prevent adverse effects on their education and health. He conducted the workshops after school staff noticed pupils were struggling to get through the day without falling asleep.

I am going down to Bournemouth to attend Dr Andy Mayer’s Sleep Workshop on Thursday to look at ways we can work togther to help more parents with this problem.

Andrew is currently exploring the possibility of conducting studies that examine the mental health and well-being of children, including how poor sleep affects their emotional, cognitive, social and educational development. He hopes the outcomes will help to offer a clearer understanding of the implications of sleep deprivation in children.

You can read the full TES article here: Can’t sleep, won’t sleep (published 27 July 2012).

Andrew’s research also featured in the Daily Mail: Parents offered ‘get your child to sleep’ classes as pupils turn up to lessons too tired (published 27 July 2012).

Andrew’s website is available here: http://andrewmayers.info/

 

 

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