A Good Night of Sleep Helps Students' Performances

Question

The CDC states, "Adequate sleep contributes to a student's overall health and well being. Students should get the proper amount of sleep at night to help them stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance." The website also says that 6-12 year olds need 9-12 hours of sleep every 24 hours and 13-18 year olds need 8-10 hours of sleep every 24 hours.

Answer 1

This is true. 

An article from Harvard states, "'Sleep is very important for consolidating memories. In any sort of experimental setting, study results show better performance if you learn material and then sleep on it, instead of remaining awake. So there’s lots and lots of evidence now indicating that sleep promotes memory strengthening and memory consolidation,' says Pace-Schott." 

As the quote explains, the benefits sleep has on memory lead to better academic performance. But this is only one aspect of the benefits of an adequate amount of sleep for students. 

The University of Pennsylvania produced an article that says, "Sleep actually helps students learn, memorize, retain, recall, and use their new knowledge to come up with creative and innovative solutions."

Something else to keep in mind is when you go to sleep. An article from MIT states, "'When you go to bed matters,' Grossman says. 'If you get a certain amount of sleep  — let’s say seven hours — no matter when you get that sleep, as long as it’s before certain times, say you go to bed at 10, or at 12, or at 1, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours. So, quantity isn’t everything.'”

While getting the specified amount of hours of sleep is important, so is the time when you sleep. According to this article, going to sleep after 2am can have negative affects on performance even if the amount of sleep you are getting is in the correct range. 

If you are interested in more information, here is a resource from the University of Pennsylvania about students and sleep: https://recharge.energy/pdf/Student_Sleep_Guide.pdf

Sources: 

https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/why-you-should-make-a-good-nights-sleep-a-priority/

https://news.mit.edu/2019/better-sleep-better-grades-1001

https://www.med.upenn.edu/csi/the-impact-of-sleep-on-learning-and-memory.html

Comments

Your answer is very specific and precise, which you use lots of sources to enhance your perspective to this question. Nice work!

Answer 2

While individual sleep schedules may differ from person to person, the claims the CDC makes are overwhelmingly true. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is a neutral, trusted government organization that has no agendas aside from the health of the American people; it'd be in its best interest to preserve public trust and publish things that are only 100% fact.

On this specific article, they reference fourteen different, recently published studies and articles--themselves published by other neutral organization such as the ones by The National Library of Medicine and American Medical Association--which back up the CDC's claims with expert analysis and unbiased experimentation.

Answer 3

According to the American Sleep Association’s 2008 report, people experienced a “decrease in cognitive function when subjects got less than eight hours of sleep.” Overall, students who perform at higher levels in school with greater academic success share a common habit; they adopt regular sleep habits to allow their brains time to rest and grow.

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/the-dramatic-link-between-sleep-and-student-performance

Answer 4

This is true because according to the CDC, sleep contributes to well being and good health and has positive impact on academic performances. Additionally, according to the Sleep Foundation,  good sleep is important for brain development and also lack of sleep leads to decreased attention span, poor memory, reduced creativity, slower processing and thinking. Therefore, a good night's sleep is necessary for best performance.

Answer 5

This is true. A good rest can have a variety of health benefits. These include a healthier circulatory and immune system, lower stress, and improved memory. Sleeping revitalizes your body and allows you to function. Many sources state this (several found below)

10 Top Health Benefits of Sleep (verywellhealth.com)

Good Sleep for Good Health | NIH News in Health

Eight Health Benefits of Sleep | Sleep Foundation

Answer 6

Yes, a good night of sleep does help student's performance. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, studies show that getting adequate sleep is essential fro students to maintain alert and work at their peak performance. Dr. Lawrence Epstein, instructor at Harvard Medical School explains his study performed on students who received less than "enough" sleep, “After two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, students feel as bad and perform as poorly as someone who has gone without sleep for 48 hours. New research also highlights the importance of sleep in learning and memory. Students getting adequate amounts of sleep performed better on memory and motor tasks than did students deprived of sleep.”

https://aasm.org/college-students-getting-enough-sleep-is-vital-to-academic-success/

Answer 7

Sleep deprivation can impair cognitive performance, especially the prefrontal cortex which controls language, divergent thinking, creativity, and executive functions (Alhola). There is especially a link between sleep deprivation on decrease of working memory and attention (Alhola). These are all extremely significant controls to be able to function properly, especially in a school setting. When students don't get the proper amount of sleep, they are lacking in basic functions necessary to excel. 

Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance - PMC (nih.gov)

Answer 8

Although sleep schedules vary person to person, a vast amount of scientific evidence supports that sleep is crucial for students to stay healthy and perform well. 

According to the CDC, "Students should get the proper amount of sleep at night to help stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance." The article also mentions that students who do not get enough sleep risk a variety of health concerns. 

For children ages 6-18 years old, it is recommended they do not receive less than 8 hours of sleep per night. 

source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/sleep.htm#:~:text=Students%20should%20get%20the%20proper,poor%20mental%20health%2C%20and%20injuries.

Comments

The claim used the CDC hyperlink as its source. Going forward, try to dig deeper and find different sources that support your fact-check explanation.

Answer 9

This claim is true. According to The CDC website, "Adequate sleep contributes to a student's overall health and well-being. Students should get the proper amount of sleep at night to help stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance."

The CDC is a reliable source and in general students who have a consistent sleep schedule and are allowing themselves to have a proper night of sleep, can perform better than if they did not. 

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/sleep.htm#:~:text=Adequate%20sleep%20contributes%20to%20a,concentration%2C%20and%20improve%20academic%20performance.

Comments

The claim used the CDC hyperlink as its source. Going forward, try to dig deeper and find different sources that support your fact-check explanation.

Answer 10

Yes, good sleep does help students' performance.  According to The American Thoracic Society, "Sleep is essential to achieve the best state of physical and mental health. Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in learning, memory, mood, and judgment. Sleep affects how well you perform when you are awake—both your daily work and athletic performance."  Students should get the proper amount of sleep to stay focused and improve academic performance.

https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/sleep-and-performance.pdf