Children overall are more sleep deprived than ever before, says Ronesh Sinha, M.D., an internal medicine specialist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and the consequences can be serious.
“Not only do kids go to bed as late as 10:00 pm, but they also have inconsistent bedtimes, which can lead to hyperactivity and trouble with social and emotional behavior,” Dr. Sinha says. “As adults, we feel fatigue when deprived of sleep. But studies show that sleep deprived children typically exhibit hyperactivity and quick mood swings.”