Kids aren’t getting as much sleep as parents think

While many moms and dads assume that putting kids to bed means they will soon be in the land of Nod, the study suggests that as few as one in seven kids are getting the optimal amount of shuteye.

American researchers tracked the sleep patterns of 102 children, aged five to 11 years old, over the course of a week.

While 83% of parents believed their child was sleeping the right amount, sleep trackers showed that just 14% of the youngsters in the study met national sleep guidelines.

The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics, add to growing concerns that children aren’t getting the sleep they need.

Study senior author Dr. Diana Grigsby-Toussaint said: “What parents often don’t see is how long it takes for kids to fall asleep or how often they wake up during the night.”

To better understand what happens after the lights are turned off, the researchers used wrist-worn accelerometers to track children’s bedtimes, how long it took them to fall asleep, how often they woke up and how much time they spent sleeping.

Parents filled out surveys and daily sleep diaries.

Dr. Grigsby-Toussaint, of Brown University School of Public Health, Rhode Island, said the goal was to see how well parents’ perceptions matched up with their kids' sleep realities.

Children between six and 12 years old should get between nine and 12 hours of sleep per night, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Data from the accelerometers showed that, on average, the children were getting only eight hours and 20 minutes of actual sleep.

But parents reported their kids slept more than nine-and-a-half hours.

The research team found that the gap was due to time parents didn’t account for.

Children were awake for an average of more than 38 minutes per night, while moms and dads reported under five minutes of nighttime wakefulness for their children.

The research team also looked at sleep differences between Latino and non-Latino children.

They found that Latino children averaged just over eight hours of sleep per night while non-Latino children averaged 8.5 hours.

Only 4.4% of Latino children in the study met national sleep guidelines compared to 22.8% of non-Latino children.

The study also found that non-Latino parents tended to underreport sleep problems.

The researchers say some of the findings could be explained by later bedtimes, co-sleeping and room sharing.

They hope future studies can explore how home environments and parenting styles affect children’s sleep patterns.

Dr. Grigsby-Toussaint said: “Our work indicates that we need to improve our communication about sleep with families to capture the multiple dimensions of it."

The researchers say families can take "proactive steps" to improve children’s sleep.

Dr. Grigsby-Toussaint said: "This comes down to following those tried-and-true sleep tips to support healthy sleep habits and doing all the things we know helps people get their best rest.

"Bedtime routines, maintaining consistent sleep and wake schedules - even on the weekends - encouraging physical activity and exposure to natural light and green spaces during the day, limiting screens close to bedtime, and creating a comfortable sleep environment.”