A study which compared data collected from 2 surveys (in1985 and 2004) of 1,000 south Australian children between the ages of 10 and 15 years revealed that within the span of a generation, average sleep duration dropped by 28 minutes for girls and 33 minutes for boys, owing largely to later bed times. Results also showed a greater increase in sleep duration for boys of lower socioeconomic backgrounds (44 minutes) than those from higher ones( 23 minutes) .The results suggest that parents need to make sleep an important part of their child’s daily routine, help maintain consistent sleep schedules and eliminate “sleep stealer” (eg: TV, internet) from their bed rooms.
Acta Peadiatr. 2007 Jul; 96(70); 954-5