Less sleep equals more naughtiness

Toddlers and pre-school children who sleep for less than ten hours have more behavioural problems, according to research carried out at the Center for Advancement of Health in America. Two- and three-year-old children who slept for less than 10 hours in a 24-hour period were more likely to be aggressive and behave badly than those who slept for longer.

Everyone knows that tired children tend to be naughty, but the researchers could not tell which came first, lack of sleep which made the children tired and therefore naughty, or general naughtiness which meant the children did not sleep.

The problem also seems to be age specific: the relationship between sleep times and naughtiness was strong for two- to three-year-olds, but had faded out by the time children were four or five. During this time the sleep patterns declined from an average of 13 hours per night at age two, to 9.5 hours at age six. So if your toddler is getting grumpy now he has given up his afternoon nap, hang on in there, it really does get better!