A substantial amount of research has been done into how much sleep humans need to be healthy. Sleep is crucial to our health as it is the time that allows us to rest and regenerate and gives our bodies time to deal with damage our system has sustained during the day. It has also been suggested that sleep is important because it allows us to dream and therefore lets our subconscious deal with and rationalize the events of the day. So sleep maintains or physical and psychological well-being.
If this is the case then how much sleep does the average school age child require?
There is no specific number of hours that every child should sleep, as every child requires a different amount and there are a number of variables to take into account, however there seems to be a general consensus among health and parenting websites.
Between the ages of 7-12 the recommended amount of sleep is 10-12 hours per night. Between the ages of 12-18 the recommended amount of sleep is 8-9 hours per night. Though there are arguments being made and research being produced that teenagers actually require more sleep than 7-12 year olds due to the massive changes being undergone both physically and psychologically.
According to an article in the New York Times, entitled “Zombie Prevention: Your Child’s Sleep”, children not getting enough sleep is a growing problem in the U.S and is now being linked to a number of serious consequences such as depression and mood disorders. The article also suggests that the lack of sleep creates an inability to learn and process new information – and of course retain any new information.
What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?
There are a number of symptoms that indicate sleep deprivation, ranging from minor symptoms to sever symptoms, all of which will affect people differently. Sleep deprivation is considered to be deadly.
- Irritability - This ranges from “I don’t want to be bothered now” to anger and “near hatred” of everyone and everything around you. This could also be described as complete intolerance.
- Tiredness - This ranges from the feeling of being constantly tired to a physical inability to keep your eyes from closing.
- Becoming socially inept - This ranges from just being shy, or withdrawing from social interaction, to a complete inability to communicate with other people. You may attempt a conversation but be unable to understand what is being said to you and be unable to communicate a comprehensible response.
- Cracking under stress or pressure - Even the smallest amount of pressure becomes too much to handle and you may crack – either becoming a hysterical mess and collapsing into a fit of tears or by becoming angry.
- Memory Loss - Impaired cognition and inability to retain information lead to a more “hazy” memory.
- Lack of ability to concentrate - Inability to focus on any task regardless of how small or inconsequential the task may be.
- Appetite change - You may lose your appetite or be hungry all the time.
- Reaction time decreases
- Blurred vision
- Mental and physical exhaustion
- Decreased performance and alertness
- Higher risk of Injury
Long term the risks of this kind of sleep deprivation can be even more severe:
- High blood pressure
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Stroke
- Obesity
- Psychiatric problems, including depression and other mood disorders
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Mental impairment
- Fetal and childhood growth retardation
- Injury from accidents
- Poor quality of life
One can only assume that such sleep deprivation from a young age would be disastrous. All that having been said…
How much sleep does the average Korean school student get each night?
Many of the students I teach, or have taught, begin school at 8:15 am. They finish school between 3:30 and 4:00pm and then they attend private study schools. Some of my students attended one or more private schools and would finish their classes around 10pm. Depending on where the schools are located in relation to their homes they would be home by 10:30pm or 11pm when they would then eat and begin their homework. Many of my students would tell me that they watched their favourite tv shows while they were doing their homework around 1am. The next morning they would get up and do it all again. Until the end of this year schools are also open every second Saturday and many of the privates schools are the same. This means that a fairly large group of my students were getting an average of 6 hours sleep a night.
According to the article “Korean Kids Lack Sleep” in the Asian correspondent in 2009 a survey was conducted in the Daegu area where 3,506 elementary school students aged 7 to 12 were asked how much they slept each night. The study concluded that they slept an average of 8 hours and 40 minutes per night which when compared with 5 other countries, including the US, meant that Korean children slept the least number of hours. Also that they were sleeping substantially less than the recommended 10-12 hours per night. The research suggested that education and light pollution were to blame for the lack of sleep.
My students are tired!
Yes! They are! They are not necessarily being obnoxious and rude because they hate you or because they are just naturally obnoxious and rude. Perhaps instead we should, as teachers, consider the symptoms and effects of sleep deprivation when we look at our students and ask ourselves how many of them are suffering from exactly that. I know how grouchy and unhelpful I am when I miss out on my sleep and these students are missing out at the time in their lives when they need it the most – and not necessarily through their own choices.
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