Shorter sleep and later bedtimes can lead to harmful changes in brain regions responsible for managing stress and emotions, particularly affecting children.
Neuroscientists studied 94 children aged 5 to 9 in New York, finding that those from economically disadvantaged families slept less and later, impacting their amygdala size and connectivity, which is crucial for emotion processing.
These findings highlight the importance of sufficient sleep for emotional and mental health and suggest that economic support for families could improve children’s sleep and brain development.