AUBURN, Ala., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- African-American children and those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds fare worse than other children when sleep is disrupted, says a U.S. study.
Researchers at Auburn University and Notre Dame University looked at 166 8- and 9-year-old African-American and European-American children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
The children's sleep habits were measured through wristwatch-sized activity monitors they wore during sleep for one week, sleep diaries of bedtimes and wake-up times, and reports of sleep quality and sleep-related problems such as sleepiness during the day. The children also were given individual cognitive tests measuring a range of mental functions related to school achievement.
"The results build on a small but growing literature demonstrating that poorer sleep in children is associated with lower performance on school-related tests," said lead author Joseph A. Buckhalt.
"The findings are consistent with the idea that health-related disparities between different groups of American children have important consequences."
In the context of these disparities, children are not at equal risk for cognitive difficulties when sleep is disrupted, according to the study published in the journal Child Development.
