early to bed

Parents are being urged to ensure their children get a good night’s sleep to improve their performance at school.

The Sleep Council in the UK teamed up with the United States’ Better Sleep Council for the research, which polled the parents of 1,000 British and 1,000 American children, aged seven to 18.

It found that in the US, almost half of parents (45 per cent) believe their child gets better grades as a result of getting more sleep compared with less than a quarter of UK parents (22 per cent).

Getting enough sleep allows children to react more quickly, have a more developed memory, learn more effectively and solve problems, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan says.