Warning to parents - you may think a good luck case of genes plus healthy food, the right environment and a loving and supportive family are all there is to enhance and support your child's full brainpower potential. You might want to think again because apart from those mentioned, a regular sleep bedtime pattern will also help boost it more.

According to a British study published in the online journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, irregular bedtimes in a child's early years could disrupt brain power or cognitive development later on in life.

Children’s Brainpower Maximum Potential Could Be Sapped By Irregular Sleep Bedtime Patterns

"Our findings suggest that inconsistent bedtimes, especially at very young ages and/or throughout early childhood, are linked to children's cognitive development," the study said.

"Relations between inconsistent bedtimes and aspects of early-child development may have knock-on effects for health and broader social outcomes throughout the lifecourse."

Studying the sleeping habits and cognitive development of 11,000 children aged three, five and seven between 2000 and 2002, researchers at University College London (UCL) found irregular bedtimes not only cause sleep deprivation but also led to a mind's poor ability to acquire and retain information.

Researchers found:

  • Irregular bedtimes at age 3 were independently associated with lower reading, math and spatial ability scores for boys and girls.
  • Irregular bedtimes at age 5 were associated with lower reading scores for girls and lower math scores for boys.
  • Irregular bedtimes at age 7 were associated with low reading, math and spatial scores for girls, but not boys.
  • Irregularbedtime hours for girls at ages 3, 5 and 7 had a cumulative effect and resulted in lower scores in all three areas tested.

"Bedtime schedules in the first few years of life might set children onto particular trajectories in relation to their cognitive development," the study said, noting sleep was crucial for the maintenance of brain plasticity and the ability for the brain to embed new knowledge, memory and skills.

"If a child is having irregular bedtimes at a young age, they're not synthesising all the information around them at that age, and they've got a harder job to do when they are older. It sets them off on a more difficult path," Amanda Sacker, professor of lifecourse studies at UCL, said.