School is a time when children learn important lessons, whether it’s the anatomy of their body, how to multiply and divide fractions, or how to express themselves through their art. However, the lessons that school can provide for children do not end there—some provide key information that children can apply that very night in order to improve their health and well-being.
While physical education is one way to improve a child’s physical health, some schools have also initiated school-based sleep programs in which children are taught the basics of sleep hygiene. The benefits of these programs for childhood health and well-being are numerous.
The Importance of Childhood Sleep
While sleep is vital at any stage, it is especially crucial for children. Research has shown that insufficient sleep among children decreases childhood flourishing, which encompasses their behavioral and social well-being. This decline in mental and physical health leads to a disinterest in learning or doing well in school and a higher likelihood of not completing their tasks.
Despite how important sleep is, though, insufficient sleep is common in children and adolescents because of packed schedules, grueling workloads, and stress related to socialization. One study found that 37% of children between the ages of 6 and 12 slept less than 9 hours per day, and 31% of teenagers got less than 8 hours of sleep. This sleep deprivation can then affect the child’s neurocognition (i.e., memory, attention, intelligence), emotional-behavioral regulation, body composition, and school-related outcomes.
Given the importance of sleep, children must understand its cruciality and be properly armed with tips for achieving higher-quality sleep, even when the stressors of school and adolescent socialization may otherwise keep them awake. Not only does this ensure they are well-rested in school, but it also fortifies the skills needed to maintain a good relationship with sleep for the rest of their lives.
What are School-Based Sleep Programs?
School-based sleep programs provide proper education on the importance of sleep. They offer an outlet for children to learn vital information for their health and well-being, along with tools to implement good sleep hygiene practices.
Sleep programs do not provide a set amount of time for children to sleep during the day; instead, they arm children and adolescents with the knowledge needed to prioritize their sleep at night.
With many children and adolescents spending the majority of their waking hours in schools, these learning institutions serve as a natural environment for implementing interventions aimed at improving sleep, especially since adequate sleep is crucial for academic performance.
Benefits of Sleep-Based School Programs
School-based sleep programs offer a way to provide information about good sleeping habits to many children, all at once. This can result in the following benefits:
Increases Sleep Knowledge
Sleep is often thought of as something that comes naturally, leaving the general population unprepared when challenges arise. Children, in particular, don’t yet have the skill set needed to combat sleep disruptors and maintain their sleep. However, sleep programs implemented in schools primarily serve the purpose of increasing sleep education, providing children with critical knowledge on sleep, including its importance and the key to sleeping well.
These programs and the knowledge they provide can be especially influential for teenagers, who reach an age where sleep is often foregone in favor of other activities and priorities—in-school sleep programs can help them understand the importance of prioritizing sleep and have been shown to lead to longer sleeping durations.
Improves Behavioral Outcomes
Research has shown that the implementation of sleep-based school programs leads to a greater reduction in conduct problems. This likely results from the improvements in behavior seen when children are able to get the recommended amount of sleep each night.
Enhances Parental Sleep Knowledge
While the programs may be aimed primarily at children, parents can benefit from them as well. Whether it’s because their child tells them about what they learned, they receive a pamphlet reviewing what the program covered that day, or they were invited in for a program of their own, school-based sleep programs can increase parental sleep knowledge.
Not only does this increase in knowledge equate to parents being better able to help their children maintain healthy sleep habits, but it can also lead to the parents implementing these techniques for themselves, improving their sleep and leading to a better mood the next day. With a greater mood comes greater patience when parenting, which can lead to a better mood for their child, as well.
Improving In-School Sleep Programs
While these programs offer a great start for improving childhood sleep habits, they cannot bridge the gap of insufficient sleep on their own.
First and foremost, the tools that children learn in these programs become insignificant if they are not implemented at home. Knowing this, involving parents in the program and encouraging their at-home assistance can go a long way in ensuring children implement the information they have gained in order to produce real-life results.
Many sleep programs also span multiple sessions, keeping the knowledge fresh in the child’s mind and encouraging good habits to stick.
Sometimes, though, the sleep program may not be as successful as desired. To gauge the program’s effectiveness, there should be a follow-up period to allow the program leaders to re-engage the students and gauge where any shortcomings are and how the program can be modified to address them. For instance, if the habits do not stick, the program may need to focus more on involving parents.
Additional ways in which school-based sleep programs can become even more effective include:
- Defining specific targets for change
- Assessing and addressing barriers to program implementation
- Determining the gap between current sleep practice and intervention goals
- Adapting the program for local use
- Using rigorous designs to evaluate the program’s outcomes and continually make adjustments
- Tailoring the program to the needs of the target users
As our understanding of good sleep habits improves, so too should the content of in-school sleep programs so that they can continue to offer their benefits.
Improving Adolescent Sleep with In-School Interventions
In-school sleep programs have the ultimate goal of improving sleep habits in children and adolescents. Those in these age groups are at greater risk of certain habits that can be detrimental to their sleep, including an increased school workload, greater screen and electronic usage, increased bedtime autonomy, and delayed circadian timings.
In order to preserve children’s academic performance and mental health, prioritizing sleep is important, and school programs offer a way to target a large group of children. With the ability to increase their sleep education, engage parents, and improve behavioral outcomes, in-school sleep programs can make a big difference in a child’s health, well-being, and academic potential.
