An HNGN news report indicates that an Australian study found that putting children to bed early is better than allowing them to sleep longer hours.
Researchers from Australia studied 3,600 children who participated in the bigger study Growing Up in Australia and investigated how the children’s sleeping patterns affected their health. They grouped the children into four: those who slept early and woke up early; those who slept early and woke up late; those who slept late and woke up late; and those who slept late and woke up early.
Those who slept early went to bed at 8:30 p.m., while those who slept late went to bed at a later time. The children involved in the study were from the age groups 4-5, 6-7 and 8-9 years old.
The researchers found that those who slept early and woke up early had better health overall.
“These benefits were seen in all early-to-bed kids regardless of whether they woke early or slept late,” lead researcher Jon Quach from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the University of Melbourne said.
