Wake-up call over kids losing their brain and beauty sleep

Nearly half of South Africa's pre-teens do not get enough sleep, a major study shows.

The deficit is driven by early wake-up times on school days, and those living far from school are most likely to skimp on sleep. Late bedtimes are also to blame.

Dr Dale Rae of the University of Cape Town and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, who led the research, said: "This is a concern because children need sleep for growth and cognitive development."

Of 472 girls and boys aged nine to 11, from 20 different schools, 41% got less than the nine hours they need.

Despite this, the average length of sleep for the group was just over nine hours, from about 9.30pm to about 6.30am.

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The study, by UCT's division of exercise science and sports medicine and the institute, found that children who were within walking or cycling distance of school were, on average, able to sleep longer during the week.

Many kids, like a seven-year-old from Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats, must wake up before sunrise to get to school on time. One Khayelitsha woman, Buyiswa Jack, said children in the area attended distant schools that offered a better education than local ones, but this meant they had to catch school taxis or buses.

"The first child to be picked up by school transport is the one who suffers most," she said. "Most times he or she will be the first to be collected and the last to be dropped off."

Jack's granddaughter Latitha, 10, who goes to school in Stellenbosch, is a boarder to avoid the long commute.

Judy Andrew, director of the Tshepang Educare Trust, said she had taught children aged nine to 15 in the Free State town of Fouriesburg.

"Some were travelling as much as 50km and getting up very early," she said.

"They would put their heads on the table and fall asleep in class. Some children from child-headed households would be up late doing chores."

Andrew said other kids stayed up late watching TV.

Lisa Vosters, who teaches at a private international school in Johannesburg, said the body language of some pupils showed fatigue.

"They are even lying on chairs," she said.

"They are so busy with demands on their time, and the traffic in cities is so hectic. Traffic hugely takes away their time."

block_quotes_start Even just limiting the hours at night that they spend on their phones would make a massive impact block_quotes_end

She recommended that parents follow a bedtime routine with younger children to relax them and, for all ages, restrict access to phones and screens at night.

"We need old-fashioned parenting skills and a routine of dinner, bed, story time and lights out. For older kids, cellphones are invading their lives and keeping them awake in bed."

High school maths teacher Rachel Begbie said: "Even just limiting the hours at night that they spend on their phones would make a massive impact."

According to the study, children from lower-income groups were more likely to go to sleep late on weeknights, although some of them went to bed earlier at weekends.

All the children took advantage of weekends to catch up the lost hours by sleeping in, with a high proportion sleeping 10 hours or more on Saturdays and Sundays.

Rae said: "The catch-up sleep on weekends is likely to indicate a degree of sleep deprivation during the week."

The survey was part of a 12-country study of childhood obesity and lifestyles conducted from April 2012 to May 2013.

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sub_head_startTeens are up way past their bedtime sub_head_end

Getting enough sleep is tough for teens too.

The academic head of a Cape Town high school, Andrea Coetzer, said she had seen pupils struggling to keep bloodshot eyes open during lessons.

Screens aggravate the sleep deficit, she said. "The students check their phones for incoming messages throughout the night. This is always one of the things parents mention when we have meetings with them about their children sleeping in class."

The principal of Gardens Commercial High School, Pieter Janse van Rensburg, said fatigue was a real issue among his pupils.

"Some students are getting up at 4.30am to catch the train and get to school on time. But they do not get to bed in time to have enough sleep ... social media keeps them up."

Dr Dale Rae of the University of Cape Town said the problem of too little sleep for high school pupils was twofold. First, the body clock of teens shifts so they become more "night owlish", which makes it hard for them to fall asleep at a reasonable hour . Second, their physiology demands that they sleep more to cope with their huge growth phase. She suggested that high schools start later to allow teenagers more time to sleep.