Strict bedtimes give children healthy brains, according to study

Making sure children have a strict bedtime could help them have bigger and healthier brains, according to a new study from Colorado State University.

Researchers studied 94 children aged between five and nine from different economic backgrounds.

Their parents were asked about the youngsters' daily routines, including bedtime rituals, and the children's brains were measured using MRI scans.

The most stable routines were associated with more hours spent in bed, and more sleep was linked with more advanced development of the brain.

“Our findings suggest that sleep insufficiency may be associated with not only the brain’s structure but also the function of emotion processing brain circuits in children,” Dr Emily Merz, who led the study, said.