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Parents know they’ll face issues like hyperactivity, irritability, and emotional outbursts if their child doesn’t get enough sleep. What they won’t see the next day are sleep-related brain changes affecting their child’s memory.
Our THINK Neurology for Kids team, which includes Shaun S. Varghese, MD, Cristina R. Marchesano, MD, Lorena Herbert, MD, Barbara Kiersz-Mueller, DO, Lauren Weaver, MD, Alicia Walls, MD, Sundeep Mandava, MD, Patricia DeForest DO, Robby Korah, FNP-C, Jennifer E. Martin, CPNP-PC, Tammy DeLaGarza, FNP-C, and Heather King, CPNP-PC, offers comprehensive care for children’s memory problems.
Learn how disrupted sleep hinders memory and how it can transform from a temporary to a permanent concern if you don’t seek help.
How poor sleep affects memory
While children (and adults) sleep, their brains engage in various activities essential for optimal health, including those related to memory. Memory problems can develop if your child doesn't get enough sleep or they lack high-quality sleep.
Poor sleep quality occurs if your child wakes during the night. The brain must cycle through all the sleep stages to maintain memory.
Waking during the night (even briefly, as happens with sleep apnea) interrupts the cycle, and then, the brain doesn’t complete the tasks essential for memory.
Poor sleep causes five memory problems:
1. Long-term memory
During sleep, the brain revisits recent memories, reorganizes them, and strengthens the nerve connections associated with the memories. Then, it puts the new memories into long-term storage. This process, long-term memory consolidation, occurs during at least two distinct stages of sleep.
2. Working memory
Working memory (one of the brain’s executive functions)temporarily holds information, allowing your child to use it to solve problems, perform tasks, and follow directions.
Working memory has a limited capacity. It only holds the small amount of information needed at that moment, and then the information disappears (to be replaced with the next round of info).
This critical memory is sensitive to sleep deprivation. Working memory declines without enough high-quality sleep. That means your child will struggle to learn, pay attention, and complete tasks.
3. Brain development
Getting less than nine hours of sleep each night may disrupt your child's brain development.
University of Maryland researchers found that children who lacked sleep had decreased brain volume compared to those who got the recommended amount of sleep. The affected brain areas were those responsible for memory and problem-solving.
4. Attention
Lack of sleep makes it difficult for children to pay attention and concentrate during the day. As a result, their brain can’t pick up or process new information, which means it also can’t store the information in long-term memory.
5. Adaptability
Without enough sleep, children develop rigid thinking, losing their ability to adapt when circumstances change. Sleep problems also alter their ability to process emotional information.
Emotional dysregulation has numerous consequences for children, including its impact on their memory.
The brain connects experiences with emotions before committing the information to long-term memory—a glitch in this process due to poor emotional processing limits memory consolidation.
How poor sleep leads to long-lasting memory problems
A few difficult nights or occasional sleep loss may cause temporary forgetfulness and learning challenges. As long as your child returns to healthy sleep habits, they’ll regain optimal memory function.
However, ongoing sleep deprivation, interrupted sleep, and prolonged disruptions in sleep cycles can result in long-lasting memory deficits.
How much sleep does my child need?
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend that children get the following amount of sleep:
- Infants (4-12 months): 12 to 16 hours (including naps)
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11 to 14 hours (including naps)
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10 to 13 hours (including naps)
- Grade schoolers (6-12 years): 9 to 12 hours
- Teens (13-18 years): 8 to 10 hours
If you have any questions about your child’s memory, call the nearest THINK Neurology for Kids office. We’re located in The Woodlands, Katy, Sugar Land, Austin, San Antonio, and Lake Jackson, Texas.