Getting to Bed Earlier Could Boost Brain Power Before Exam Season, Study Suggests
By Jill Dando News
With summer exams just around the corner, new research shows that teenagers who sleep longer and go to bed earlier may benefit from better brain function and sharper thinking skills.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University in Shanghai found that even a small increase in sleep—just 15 minutes—was linked to better performance on tasks testing vocabulary, reading, and problem-solving.
The findings, published in Cell Reports, come from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study in the United States.
This large-scale research project tracks child development over time. In this latest study, 3,222 children aged 11 to 12 wore FitBit devices to monitor their sleep. The results were compared with two more groups of 13- to 14-year-olds, totalling 1,190 participants.
Researchers sorted the young people into three categories based on average sleep time. The first group averaged 7 hours and 10 minutes per night, the second slept 7 hours and 21 minutes, and the third clocked in at 7 hours and 25 minutes.
Despite the relatively small differences, researchers noted clear variations in brain structure and performance.
Researchers found no difference in school achievements between the three groups, but when given cognitive tests looking at reading, vocabulary and problem-solving, the group that slept the longest performed the best.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, from Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry, said: “Regularly getting a good night's sleep is important in helping us function properly, but while we know a lot about sleep in adulthood and later life, we know surprisingly little about sleep in adolescence, even though this is a crucial time in our development. Even though the differences in the amount of sleep that each group got was relatively small... we could still see differences in brain structure and activity and in how well they did at tasks. This drives home... how important it is to have a good night's sleep at this important time in life.”
The team also looked at the participants’ heart rates during sleep. Those who slept more had lower resting heart rates—a possible sign of better sleep quality and overall health.
Dr Qing Ma, from Fudan University, noted: “Although our study can't answer conclusively whether young people have better brain function and perform better at tests because they sleep better, there are a number of studies that would support this idea. For example, research has shown the benefits of sleep on memory... which is important for learning.”
While none of the participants hit the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep for their age, the findings underline just how crucial good sleep habits are—especially during key times of brain development and academic pressure.
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