In that mythical era when children were seen and not heard, and did as they were told without argument, everyone knew that regular bedtimes were important. "Dream on!" most modern parents might reply. But research by Yvonne Kelly of University College, London, shows that the ancient wisdom is right-half the time. Daughters, it seems, do benefit from regular bedtimes. Sons do not. Dr Kelly knew of many studies that had looked at the connection between sleep habits and cognitive ability in adults and adolescents. All showed that inconsistent sleeping schedules went hand in hand with poor academic performance. Surprisingly, however, little such research had been done on children. She and a team of colleagues therefore examined the bedtimes and cognitive abilities of 11,178 children bom in Britain between September 2000 and January 2002, who are enrolled in a multidisciplinary research project called the Millennium Cohort Study.
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