[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-592448-105":59,"doc-detail-592448-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","ask-the-cognitive-scientist-are-sleepy-students-learning","Ask the Cognitive Scientist - Are Sleepy Students Learning?","","Sleep and learning are examined through findings from cognitive science, addressing why students—especially in the morning—may appear sleepy and struggle to stay alert. It explains sleep’s biological universality across animals, highlights the cognitive costs of insufficient sleep, and reports that teens in industrialized countries often fall short of recommended hours. The discussion emphasizes that the learning impact, while real, may be less severe than feared and can improve with planning to increase sleep duration.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ask-the-cognitive-scientist-are-sleepy-students-learning/592448/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ask-the-cognitive-scientist-are-sleepy-students-learning/592448.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"McGucket","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-25","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is sleep essential for learning?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Sleep is closely tied to learning, and lack of sleep produces broader cognitive costs. Sleepiness contributes to serious real-world accidents, underscoring its importance for performance.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How much sleep do adolescents typically get compared with recommendations?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"A common rule of thumb is that adolescents should ideally get nine or more hours nightly; eight hours is borderline and below that is insufficient. Reports indicate only a small minority reach optimal sleep while most report insufficient sleep.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Does insufficient sleep affect learning as much as people fear?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The impact on learning is quite real, but studies suggest it is not as drastic or widespread as might be expected. 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Teachers’ instructional decisions are based on a mix of theories learned in teacher education, trial and error, craft knowledge, and gut instinct. Such knowledge often serves us well, but is there anything sturdier to rely on?  \nCognitive science is an interdisciplinary field of researchers from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, and anthropology who seek to understand the mind. In this regular American Educator column, we consider findings from this field that are strong and clear enough to merit classroom application.  \nBy Daniel T. Willingham  \nQuestion: Some of my students seem really sleepy—they stifle yawns and struggle to keep tired eyes open—especially in the morning. This can’tbe good for their learning, right? Is there anything I can do to help these students?  \nAnswer: Sleep is indeed essential to learning, and US teenagers (and teenagers in most industrialized countries) don’t get enough. Although recent work shows there is a strong biological reason that teens tend not to sleep enough, there is some good news in this research. First, the impact on learning, although quite real, does not appear to be as drastic as we might fear. Second, the sleep deficit teens tend to run is not inevitable; with some planning, they can get more shuteye.  \nDaniel T. Willingham is a professor of cognitive psychology atthe University of Virginia. His most recent book, When Can You Trust the Experts? How to Tell Good Science from Badin Education, provides a shortcutfor evaluating claims about programs and strategies. His previous book, Why Don’t Students Like School?, helps teachers apply research on the mind to the classroom setting. For his articles on education, go to www.daniel [willingham.com. Readers can pose questions](willingham.com. Readers can pose questions) to “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” by sending an e-mail [to amered@aft.org. Future columns will](to amered@aft.org. Future columns will) try to address readers’ questions.  \nR  \nesearchers studying both humans and other animals have worked over the last 50 years to answer what would seem to be a straightforward question: Why do we sleep? The need for sleep appears to be as basic and  \nuniversal as the need to eat. All animals sleep (with the possible exception of sharks), and all animals, if deprived of sleep, will“catchup” with extra sleep when given the chance. The universality of sleep across species indicates that it is essential to life. Yet its purpose is not known. It maybe related to energy conservation or nervous system recuperation.1 One thing sleep clearly doesn’t do: it doesn’t provide a time for the brain to “turn off.” Most of the brain is active during most of the time you’re asleep.2 But whatever sleep does for the brain, it’s clear that lack of sleep brings wideranging cognitive costs,3 and sleepiness is a major contributor to workplace and automotive accidents.4  \nAs many teachers and parents are well aware, US high school students don’t sleep enough. Although no set of guidelines is considered authoritative, a generally accepted rule of thumb is that adolescents should ideally get nine or more hours of sleep  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY cAThERINE mEURISSE  \nAmERIcAN EdUcATOR | WINTER 2012–2013 35  \neach night. Eight hours is considered borderline, and less than mance on an array of cognitive and behavioral measures. Most of eight, insufficient. By this measure, only about 8 percent of teens these effects are seen in both younger children11 (under 12 years) report optimal sleep, and the majority—69 percent—report insuf- and older children12 (aged 12–18). (This article will focus on older  \nficient sleep.5 children, as most of the research has been conducted on this age  \nDespite the fact that teenagers don’t get enough sleep, research group.) What’s surprising is that the consequences of sleep depriconfirms that s","cbCaivywBnw7zkhj","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivywBnw7zkhj","pdf",171997,"English","# Are Sleepy Students Learning?\n## Sleep’s biological role and cognitive costs\n## How much students sleep and how it changes with age\n## Effects on learning and executive function","[{\"question\":\"Why is sleep essential for learning?\",\"answer\":\"Sleep is closely tied to learning, and lack of sleep produces broader cognitive costs. Sleepiness contributes to serious real-world accidents, underscoring its importance for performance.\"},{\"question\":\"How much sleep do adolescents typically get compared with recommendations?\",\"answer\":\"A common rule of thumb is that adolescents should ideally get nine or more hours nightly; eight hours is borderline and below that is insufficient. Reports indicate only a small minority reach optimal sleep while most report insufficient sleep.\"},{\"question\":\"Does insufficient sleep affect learning as much as people fear?\",\"answer\":\"The impact on learning is quite real, but studies suggest it is not as drastic or widespread as might be expected. Some cognitive functions show only slight performance differences, and the overall effects may be smaller than feared.\"}]","Ask the Cognitive Scientist - Are Sleepy Students Learning? | PDF",1792074605,13]