A study has found that good and regular sleep may help a child who is about to start kindergarten with the transition. Summer may not be over yet, but there are families out there who are getting their younger kids ready to start school. Children who are about to start kindergarten are usually a mix of excitement and a bit of worry.
This can be a big transition for a child, who doesn’t have the ability to cope with such changes. They can struggle with starting school, and mom may be looking for ways to help them cope. Studies are constantly being done to see what can help ease this transition, and make it easier for everyone.
According to Medical Xpress and US News, a study may have found that long and regular sleep is the key to kindergarten success. This new research shows that sleep is linked with helping children adjust to school when they first start kindergarten.
While it is important that a child has long, restful and regular sleep, the researchers found that regular sleep was the most important thing. That they needed a consistent routine and schedule, and they needed to get roughly the same amount of sleep every night.
This can indicate to parents that even though it is still summer vacation, they may want to get their kindergarten child on a school sleep schedule starting now so that they have time to reap its benefits.
They found that children who had this kind of sleep were more engaged learners, and had better social and emotional skills than children who did not get the same quality sleep.
We have long known that sleep is important for several factors of life, but this has narrowed it down to a specific group, and it is further validating how important sleep is.
The researchers did find that in order for it to be completely beneficial, children needed to have regular 10-hour sleep every night for a year before starting school. This may have parents concerned, if their children have been sporadic sleepers over the last year, but it may help other families.
Researchers are stating that this is telling them that they need to work with families who are reporting sleep problems in their children from a younger age. They can start working with them a year before they are set to start school and the hope will be that they have fallen into that regular pattern by the time school starts.
Sources: Medical Xpress, US News