The impact of sleep on health and learning. : A study of perceptions amongst 12 year olds.

Sleep has a substantial effect on health status where good sleeping habits proves positive on learning. The aim of the present study was to map the views and perceptions of sleep and its effects on health and school performance on 12-year olds. The goal is to visualize these views to give teachers the possibility to better plan the education in concordance with the students’ abilities. The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews where 12 students aged 12 have partaken. The results show that while the majority of children interviewed know how long they need to sleep for optimal performance but many think that they are not sleeping sufficiently due to temptation from digital media. The children have the perception that we need to sleep to gather energy and for the brain to rest. In agreement with this, they are aware that too little sleep can impact school performance in a negative way. However, they are unaware that bad sleeping habits can have a negative impact also on the physical health