Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >
Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >Only about 1 out of 3 adults in the U.S. report consistently getting the sleep they need. About 25-30% of our time is spent sleeping during a 24-hour period, so sleep is a valuable part of our day!
The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) looks at how much sleep U.S. children get. In 2020-2021, Pennsylvania parents were surveyed and 31.9% of children aged 4 months to 14 years were not getting enough sleep (see map below).
Sleep improves physical health and mental health. It strengthens immunity, improves cognition and regulates emotions. It improves behavioral alertness and performance.
Sleep improves learning and affects early childhood health and well-being. Creating environments that promote good sleep supports children’s learning, health, and resilience.
Brain-building during sleep
When infants and toddlers sleep, a massive amount of information is being processed by the brain. Rapid brain architecture, building and scaffolding of neural networks occurs during sleep. This is why infants and toddlers require more sleep in general.
Napping
Napping has important benefits and functions for young children. The restorative processing of memories and emotions occurs ten times more efficiently during sleep.
Napping protects emotional health by helping process conflicting emotions and memories, fostering emotional regulation throughout the day. Napping is like pressing a “reset” button in young children. Disruptions or interruptions to napping may cause emotional reactivity and nervous system dysregulation in young children (“grumpiness”).
Impact of light and temperature on sleep
Exposure to light and electronic screen time can cause sleep problems in young children.
Young children are more sensitive to light than adults because they have larger pupils, and their lenses are more transparent.
In 2018, the Monique LeBourgeois Sleep and Development Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder found that dimming the lights in the hours before bedtime can help children fall asleep. They found that exposing preschoolers to an hour of bright light before bedtime almost completely shuts down their production of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone, for at least 50 minutes after the lights were turned off.
Cooler room and body temperatures are more conducive to deep sleep. In fact, our bodies pre-emptively lower our body temperatures to reach deep sleep. Heat waves can cause overly warm temperatures for sleep, leading to fragmented and fitful sleep. Erring on the side of too cool rather than too hot is better for sleeping.
Recognize sleeping and napping are not competing priorities for education. Sleep is foundational for learning and necessary to achieve educational goals. Lack of sleep makes us forget what we are taught.
Optimize sleep in the early learning setting: monitor lighting, temperature and sounds
Provide consistent and structured routines for napping
Spend more time outdoors in natural sunlight – it regulates and balances sleeping patterns
Read bedtime stories using familiar paper books instead of screens (screens emanate light)
Maintain cooler bedtime temperatures – turn the thermostat down to encourage deep sleep
Avoid over-heating or excessive swaddling of infants
*Acknowledgement: NAEYC online: Robin Temple, Northern Interior Alaska AEYC Executive Director, AK
Robbins R, Grandner MA, Buxton OM, et al. Sleep myths: an expert-led study to identify false beliefs about sleep that impinge upon population sleep health practices. Sleep Health. 2019;5(4):409-417. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2019.02.002
Brown, T. M. et al. Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults. PLoS Biology 20, e3001571 (2022)
Disclaimer: This is the most updated information at release time. The information in Health Trends is not a Pennsylvania regulatory requirement for early childhood providers. Pennsylvania early childhood providers with regulatory requirements should contact their Cert rep or the Bureau of Certification.
