(Describer) Streams of light collide to create a globe filled with water. Title: Science Nation.
(Describer) About a dozen kids clap on a sidewalk.
(all)
Let's go, be blue,
let's go!
(male narrator)
We know kids need
a good night's sleep to thrive.
Those that don't
get enough shuteye, well...
(female)
They don't concentrate as well
or perform well
on tasks that are complex.
(narrator)
Or even worse,
they may be more likely
to be depressed,
sick, or obese.
Sleep is important
for brain development
(Describer) Mona El-Sheikh:
and for emotional
regulation.
(narrator)
As it turns out,
what sleep gives
and what its lack
takes away
may be magnified
by poverty.
(El-Sheikh)
Poverty is a very major
stressor for our children.
(narrator)
With support from the
National Science Foundation,
Auburn University
Psychologist Mona El-Sheikh
and her team are studying
sleep deprivation
and how it impacts kids
who are otherwise deprived.
(Describer) A boy approaches a bed.
(El-Sheikh)
Before children
come to the lab,
we examine their sleep
for one week.
(narrator)
Using her own kids
as test subjects,
she demonstrates the many tests
she's conducted
on thousands of children
in her lab.
This actigraph monitors
restlessness at night.
Every one of
the black lines are movement.
(Describer) ...worn on the wrist.
This would be an a example
of a poor sleeper.
(Describer) ..on graphs.
(Describer) Many black lines together.
We're gonna put stickers
on your body...
(narrator)
Team members attach
leads to the children,
monitoring how they react
to stress.
They watch for a faster
heartbeat or sweaty palms.
(Describer) A boy listens on headphones.
(recorded female)
We barely get anything done
on the weekends!
(recorded male)
Give me a break!
(narrator)
They listen to an argument.
(woman)
Find the two things
in each row
that belong,
and do them quickly.
(narrator)
Then they examine
the kids' performance
with a timed test,
a Rubik's cube,
or tracing a star
while looking in a mirror.
El-Sheikh says
the findings are clear.
Sleep matters
more for kids,
and poor kids
need it most.
(Describer) Kids play in a schoolyard.
The good news is
if poor kids get enough rest,
that levels
the playing field.
(El-Sheikh)
They do not get sick
as frequently,
and there's less depression
and anxiety at home.
(narrator)
So even struggling parents
can help their kids
by sending them to bed early.
It's an idea
worth sleeping on.
(Describer) The globe turns.
For Science Nation,
I'm Miles O' Brien.
