Drowsiness at school increases and worries experts – 03/15/2024 – Balance

Getting little sleep and arriving at school very tired is a problem that has always existed and that every student has experienced. For professionals in the areas of education and health, however, the frequency and precocity of cases have been increasing in a worrying manner. The cause may be the increasing presence of screens in students’ study and entertainment routines.

According to experts interviewed by Sheet, poor nights even affect those in pre-school, imposing new and urgent challenges on parents and schools. On World Sleep Day, this Friday (15), the warning is that missing necessary hours of rest can mean harm to physical growth, learning and relationship skills.

“The biggest concern is that many children and adolescents today live in sleep deprivation, which is fundamental for the maturation of the central nervous system, particularly in the first years of life. Sleep is important for the formation of memory, attention mechanisms and all functions cognitive”, says doctor Rosana Cardoso Alves, neurologist and neuropediatrician with training in clinical neurophysiology and sleep medicine.

Sleep also affects other aspects of the body, such as immunity and cardiovascular health. “The lack of quality sleep interferes with child and adolescent development”, says the neuro.

Erika Fernanda Falaschi Romeiro, pedagogical coordinator of elementary education 1 at Albert Sabin Early Childhood Education and Elementary School, in Ribeirão Preto (SP), says that in the classroom it is possible to feel the impact of the use of screens due to the increase in children arriving sleepy and, consequently, having a very short concentration time.

“Screens offer attractions that trap our young people and children for excessive time in an environment of incessant stimuli. Controlling this time seems impossible. The work needs to be joint, family and school”, says Romeiro, who is a pedagogue and psychopedagogue specializing in neurolearning.

A member of the Brazilian Sleep Association (ABS), Alves reinforces that parents have to pay close attention to entertainment with tablets and smartphones, especially at night. And although it is common for teenagers to go to bed later due to a change called “delayed sleep time”, this does not mean spending sleepless nights watching streaming, video games and the like.

“There are two aspects: the issue of excessive light that disrupts sleep and reduces the production of melatonin, and that of games and social networks, options that end up making children and adolescents more anxious”, highlights the doctor.

Excessive use of screens is a dilemma that goes beyond prohibition and, because it is something new, many parents have turned to their doctor’s office for help in creating limits.

“The child who ends up sleeping very late and has to get up early to go to school, ends up sleeping sometimes five or six hours, which is very little even for an adult. Families have to try to reduce it, at least close to the sleep schedule”, points out the doctor.

Tourism specialist Mariana Lima, 28, mother of student Fernanda, 6, says that screens capture a lot of children’s attention and are now, for them, the main obstacle when it comes to sleeping. “I’ve noticed that, sometimes, Fernanda is falling asleep and, if I can’t stop to put her to sleep, she picks up her cell phone and that wakes her up,” she says.

Although the girl is calm and usually responds to the request to switch off, sometimes the mother needs to intervene and contain the agitation so that the girl can handle all her activities the next day without becoming too tired.

Cláudia Catão, a sleep specialist psychologist who is part of the clinical team at Doutor ao Vivo, says that lack of sleep is a physiological state that reduces the ability to respond to environmental stimuli and alters the body’s cycles. The time and duration of night rest, therefore, influence the body’s metabolism and the normality of brain function. “When we have an interruption, a desynchronization, we will cause metabolic, psychiatric and degenerative diseases”, says Catão.

To regulate sleep patterns, in addition to controlling screens, the psychologist recommends reducing sedentary behaviors and encouraging physical and extracurricular activities in the school environment.

“Parents, society, school, we are all involved and committed, or need to be, with the development of our future adults, be it emotional, cognitive, behavioral or bodily health. Model these healthy lifestyle habits”, he ponders.

The psychologist also recommends that parents make it part of their children’s waking and sleeping routine to be close to the emotional needs that may arise. When it’s time to rest, the LED lights, more similar to those of the day, should be replaced by lamps in more orange tones from the beginning of the night, and the voices and images with calmer music or a bedtime story.

The practices help with what experts call sleep hygiene and are also reflected in the quality of the morning mood the next day, avoiding a chronic problem. “If her mood [criança pela manhã] is changed, [se] have trouble controlling impulses and aggressive behaviors, [essas] are characteristics of children who are sleep deprived. Irritated, it is difficult for her to deal with relational difficulties at school.”

Professor Damir Forner, from Chapecó (SC), creator of the Peixinho chain, the first franchise specialized in early childhood education in Brazil, has worked in education for around 40 years and says that sleep is an issue of utmost importance in the early stages of learning.

A specialist in linguistics and teaching methodology, she says that babies with impaired sleep already have worse relationships with teachers and friends and that parents should be aware of anything that alters their sleep, such as possible nightmares or fears. “If she doesn’t sleep well, she will become aggressive and will show this in her behavior. At home, staying on the screen late is harmful, because it affects the quality of sleep. Sometimes, children aged three to four years old no longer sleep well,” says Forner.

In addition to nap time at school for little ones, Forner also says that it is important to have moments of breathing practice to calm older children, aged 8 to 9. “It’s not just the excessive abuse of screens, there are also other issues of a subjective nature, of an emotional nature and of a family nature”, reinforces Forner.

Coordinator of the Darcy Ribeiro Educational Center, in Paranoá (DF), Portuguese language teacher Marlete Batista do Nascimento has worked in the education sector for 30 years and points out that many students arrive late or have their academic performance affected by sleep. “From the reports of parents and students, and from our observation, the use of screens is the main reason for lack of sleep. They stay up until the early hours playing and surfing the internet”, reports Nascimento.

The problem is combated through meetings and conversations with those responsible, encouraging the establishment of a study routine and an agreed time to sleep. The reality of families, however, is not always easy to resolve. “The family often leaves the student alone at home to wake up and prepare for school. The child has difficulty organizing himself and following a schedule without supervision. He does not wake up with an alarm clock, but the family is often unable to help , because they leave home early and return late”, recalls Nascimento.

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