When children stay up late, they have more academic and attention problems at school, according to a new study from Brown Medical School, to be published in the December issue of the journal SLEEP.

The findings indicate that ensuring students get enough sleep is a significant step in helping them maximize learning ability in class as well as minimizing behaviors characteristic of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"These findings have implications for how we understand attention problems in kids," said lead author Gahan Fallone, PhD, associate professor at the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Mo.

In the study, 74 healthy, academically successful children between the ages of 6 and 12 were monitored for a three-week period. During the first week of the study, they slept their normal amount.

For the second two weeks, they went to bed a little earlier one week and much later than normal the other.

Their teachers rated their academic performance and behavior at the end of each week. Results showed significantly lower ratings for academic performance and attention during the week that they slept fewer hours, despite the fact that teachers were not told which sleep schedule the kids were on.