Sleep disturbances are associated with reduced school achievements in first-grade pupils

Several previous studies have demonstrated deteriorated scholastic achievements in school-aged children who experience sleep disturbances. In the current study, we examined the association between sleep disturbances during kindergarten (fifth to sixth year of children), and behavior, neurocognitive skills, as well as the children's future academic performance in first grade. The population included 98 kindergarten students who were scheduled to attend first grade. All children/parents filled out a sleep questionnaire and underwent one week of actigraphic sleep/wake study, as well as cognitive and behavioral assessments. Toward the end of first grade achievement evaluation in reading, writing, and arithmetic as well as teachers' evaluations were administrated. Of the 98 pupils, 6 failed the end of first grade's achievement tests (6.1%). When looking at their sleep patterns a year earlier, they had significantly longer sleep latencies (41 +/- 14 vs. 21 +/- 12 min, p < .05), increased arousals from sleep (4.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 1.8 +/- 1.1, p < .01), and lower sleep efficiencies (89.5 +/- 1.1 vs. 94.3 +/- 2.7%, p < .05) than pupils who passed the tests. There were significant correlations between sleep variables and cognitive and behavioral scores. The correlation between sleep efficiency in kindergarten and grades at the end of first year of school was r = .64 (p < .01). Children who failed first grade had significantly inferior sleep patterns. Sleep disturbances were associated with cognitive and emotional immaturity.