Under-5’s sleep habits set stage for school behaviour

Toddlers who wriggle around the room at rest time are more likely to misadjust to school, a study has shown.

The research, undertaken by Dr Kate Williams of Queensland University of Technology’s education faculty, revealed about 3o per cent of children fail to develop good sleep hygiene before the age of 5. This makes them more susceptible to emotional and behavioural issues at school, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Drawing on subjects from the groundbreaking national study Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Williams examined the sleep patterns of 2880 children born in 2004, from birth to ages 6 and 7.

Williams, whose research was published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology, said “The overwhelming finding is it’s vital to get children’s sleep behaviours right by the time they turn 5.”

She suggested parents, carers and childcare workers all had a hand in encouraging children’s healthy sleep habits.

Surprised at the high proportion of young kids with sleep issues, Williams stressed that when it comes to school-age, sleep-related stresses, “prevention is the key”. Her study expounds on previous QUT research that found a nexus between enforced daycare naps that exceeded one hour and later sleep issues.

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