Young children may often protest against their early bedtime, swaying their parents to let them stay awake for their favourite programme. Or, parents may wake up the child for sleeping in late on weekends or scold them to stay up late at night to finish their school homework. Sleep may look like a form of laziness or procrastination to parents. However, sleep is fundamental to the brain's development. 

For parents, it’s important to remember that sleep is vital for young brains. This means that parents need to encourage their children to value good sleeping habits. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that there are more alarming consequences of sleep disruptions in young children.

Sleep’s connection to brain development

It’s not a surprising fact that sleep supports brain health, and poor sleep quality is detrimental to cognitive functioning. The study, led by Professor Graham Diering from the University of North Carolina, delves into how sleep plays an indispensable role in developing the neural connections necessary for learning and memory. There’s a difference in the key role of sleep in adults and children.

For adults, sleep is largely associated with maintenance and repair, but for children, the study suggests that sleep has a vital developmental function. It is critical for brain growth and the strengthening of synaptic connections. The researchers examined mice and found that poor sleep quality has a more significant impact on the brains of young mice than on adults.

They discovered that young brains didn’t catch up on sleep in the same way adults do. This indicates that lost sleep due to poor sleep quality or disruptions in children can have long-lasting effects on brain functioning. This highlights the importance of establishing good sleep habits, such as going to bed on time and having uninterrupted rest, to ensure optimal brain development in young children.

Link with neurodevelopmental disorders

The connection between sleep disturbances in children and neurodevelopmental disorders is one of the most alarming aspects of the study. As the researchers examined the mice, they uncovered that sleep loss affected specific proteins in the brain. These proteins are crucial for the brain's cognitive functions, such as learning and memory.

Most importantly, these same protein are also linked to genetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). If a child has a genetic predisposition to autism, lack of sleep will trigger that further, increasing their risk. Sleep is the cornerstone of good biological well-being, and for children, it is all the more important.

Study author Graham Diering explained, "Sleep is something that is very important for your whole life, but sleep is especially important for babies and children. There is an increasing appreciation that one cannot ‘make up’ for lost sleep. This is especially true during development. Sleep loss can negatively impact brain development. Once development is finished, we don’t get to go back and do it again.”

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