It is almost 11.00pm. A child is resting in bed, staring at the glowing screen, replying to messages, scrolling through short videos and playing one last game before sleep. “Just five more minutes,” they promise.
The house is silent, but inside the bedroom, the screen remains bright, the mind stays alert, and sleep drifts further away.
Before the child realises it, midnight has passed, and tomorrow’s school day has arrived far too quickly, yet proper rest has once again slipped away.
Scenes like this are increasingly common. Children are having to sleep later, wake up exhausted, rush through meals, and struggle to concentrate in class.
While modern living and technology have made life easier, they have also unnoticeably altered daily routines, impacting children’s sleep, eating patterns, learning and even physical development.
We are raising children with packed schedules, but also an increasingly sleep-deprived generation, a problem with far-reaching consequences.
Why Are Sleep, Eating, And Growth Deeply Connected in Children?
Sleep is far more than rest, especially for children who are rapidly growing. It is a powerful driver of children’s growth, learning, and emotional well-being.
The intrinsic connection between sleep, eating, and growth supports the overall health of a child:
Sleep Supports Growth: Sleep stimulates the release of growth hormone (GH), also known as somatotropin, a natural hormone produced by the pituitary gland in the brain that promotes rapid growth in children.
It is especially critical for building bones, muscles, and tissues that contribute to overall body strength.
Children’s bodies experience peaks in GH secretion within the first one to two hours of deep sleep, highlighting the importance of sufficient sleep duration and uninterrupted deep sleep for optimal GH release.
While irregular and inadequate sleep disrupts GH release, consistent and adequate sleep is therefore crucial for children’s growth, including proper height gain and healthy physical development.
Sleep Regulates Appetite and Eating Behaviour: Sleep influences appetite through two key hormones: ghrelin, the “hunger hormone” that makes you feel hungry, and leptin, the “fullness hormone” that makes you feel full.
Children staying awake past their bedtime induce rises in the hunger hormone, ghrelin, while reducing the satiety hormone, leptin.
Prolonged wakefulness increases hunger signals and weakens self-control, leading to cravings for unhealthy foods such as fatty and sugary foods and to overeating late at night.
Children who eat late at night are more likely to gain excess weight and have poor-quality diets, leading to increased risk of obesity and other metabolic issues such as diabetes.
Late-night screen use can also delay bedtime, and consequently, lead to skipping breakfast, which disrupts the natural cycle of appetite control.
Adequate sleep duration of nine to 11 hours, therefore, helps children prevent poor eating habits and excessive weight gain, as well as regulate a healthy body clock.
Sleep Strengthens the Brain and Supports Learning: Sleep is essential for memory, learning and brain development.
While children sleep, the brain builds up memories of daily learning, removes waste products from brain cells, and prepares for new learning the next day.
Studies show that insufficient sleep negatively impact on children’s academic performance, which in turn impairs their cognitive functions, including attention, memory, and problem-solving.
All these factors contribute to difficulty in concentration, decreased creativity, and lower academic grades.
Therefore, obtaining regular and high-quality sleep is crucial for children’s academic success.
Sleep Helps Control Emotions and Behaviour: Sleep helps children manage their emotions and behaviour effectively.
When children sleep well, their brains can process their feelings more effectively, enabling them to remain calm, focused, and emotionally balanced.
The importance of good sleep for children’s emotional and behavioural regulation is supported by studies associating regular bedtimes with reduced irritability, greater impulse control and better stress management.
Inconsistent sleep, on the other hand, leads to poor emotional control and increased behavioural issues, emphasising sleep’s role in developing a stable emotional foundation.
How Much Sleep Do Children Really Need?
The National Sleep Foundation states that children and teenagers require significantly more sleep than adults to support brain function, critical growth and development.
Extra sleep during these formative years promotes rapid brain development, physical growth and hormonal regulation.
For school-age children aged six to 12, it is recommended that they get nine to 11 hours of sleep each night to feel rested, stay healthy, and perform well at school.
However, a Malaysian study reported that 41.5 per cent of children fail to obtain sufficient sleep, suggesting a high prevalence of sleep deficiency among school-age children in Malaysia.
It is further supported by a recent study that found 68.2 per cent of school-age children in Kuala Lumpur were not getting enough sleep.
The prevalence of sleep deprivation in Malaysian school-age children is found to be highly associated with modern lifestyle factors, particularly urban living and digital device use.
Too Little Sleep, Too Many Challenges
When children do not get enough sleep, they may feel tired, moody and struggle to focus in class the next day.
Urban lifestyles, characterised by excessive screen use, constant exposure to light, and increased academic pressure, contribute to a rise in children’s sleep deficiency.
As a result, children struggle with learning, emotional regulation, and healthy growth, which raises their risk of long-term mental and physical health challenges.
Screens, Artificial Light, And The Stolen Night
Melatonin is the hormone that helps regulate our sleep–wake cycle and makes us feel sleepy at night.
Evening use of phones, tablets, or other screen devices exposes children to artificial light, which suppresses melatonin production. This makes it difficult to fall asleep at night and disrupts their natural body clock.
As a result, children fall asleep later, wake up tired, and struggle to get ready for school.
Overtiredness can negatively impact children’s mood, focus, and academic performance, whereas staying up late reduces the amount of sleep they need.
Therefore, it is critical to manage children’s evening screen usage for their sleep health and overall well-being.
Daytime Sleepiness: The First Warning Sign
Daytime sleepiness is the most noticeable sign of poor sleep, indicating that a child’s nighttime rest is insufficient.
Teachers and parents may become aware of children who yawn constantly, struggle to focus in class, being moody or irritable, or become sleepy during classes or car rides.
Daytime sleepiness is more than just fatigue; it affects academic performance, emotional regulation, and overall health.
Early recognition of these signs enables parents to support and improve their child’s sleep, helping them to feel refreshed and ready for the day.
How Can Parents And Teachers Support Healthy Sleep Habits?
Supporting healthy sleep in children requires collaboration between home and school.
Parents and teachers play a crucial role in ensuring children have healthy sleep, learning, and overall well-being.
For Parents: Protecting Your Child’s Sleep
Parents are the primary guardians and first line of defence in supporting children’s sleep. Practical steps include:
Establishing a regular bedtime and wake-up time: Encourage your child to sleep early and get up at the same time every day to promote a healthy body clock.
Reducing screen time at night: Encourage your child to avoid using phones, tablets and computers at least one hour before bedtime.
Setting up a calm sleep environment: Ensure the bedroom is dark, quiet, and comfortable for restful sleep.
Watching for sleepy signs: Frequent yawning, poor focus, moodiness or dozing off during the day may signal a lack of sleep, and your child may require more rest.
Encouraging healthy daily habits: Encourage your child to exercise regularly, eat nutritious meals, and be mindful of their eating habits to promote better sleep.
For Teachers: Supporting Students’ Sleep And Well-Being
Teachers are in a key position to detect signs of sleep deprivation in the classroom and support students’ learning and well-being:
Notice sleepiness in class: Frequent yawning, poor concentration, moodiness or dozing off during the day may signal that a child is not getting enough sleep.
Keep homework manageable: Avoid assigning excessive work that may cause children to stay up late.
Educate on healthy sleep: Teach children the importance of sleep and how screen use and daily routines can affect their sleep.
Collaborate closely with parents: Share observations and concerns so parents can adjust routines at home when necessary.
Conclusion
Modern lifestyles, characterised by high academic standards, extracurricular activities, and heavy screen use, make it common for children to stay up late and wake up tired.
Lack of sleep affects children’s learning, emotions, behaviours and eating patterns, making adequate sleep essential for healthy growth and development.
Parents are the key to developing your child’s healthy sleep habits, and teachers are essential as a support system.
By establishing consistent bedtimes, monitoring daytime sleepiness, and limiting evening screen time, children can achieve sufficient and high-quality sleep.
Therefore, fostering healthy sleep habits can help children learn, grow, and thrive better while preventing a sleep-deprived generation.
Low Bee Hui is a Master’s programme student in clinical nutrition at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Dr Fatin Hanani Mazri is a lecturer in dietetics at UKM.
This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Ova.
