Children who lack sleep 'show it in their faces' and have long-term social issues, study shows

Children who don’t get enough sleep show it in their faces and may struggle with long-term social issues, according to new research.

A study in the US examined 37 children aged between seven and 11, found that children who had poor sleeping patterns had less positive facial expressions, had difficulties in focusing, and had greater social problems in the future.

Researchers examined the children during two in-lab emotional assessments - one when some children were well-rested and the other where children had two nights of disrupted sleep.

During these assessments, children viewed positive images - such as kittens and ice cream and negative images - like getting an injection or ferocious dogs - on a computer screen while a HD camera recorded their facial expressions.

The children’s parents also provided reports of their child’s social functioning and problems at that time of the first experiments then around two years later.

The study found children who showed less positive facial expressions in response to positive images after sleep restriction had greater social problems later.

Results also suggested that inadequate sleep may impact a child’s social functioning and ability to express emotions, which may become more noticeable with age.

Professor Candice Alfano, from the University of Houston, said: “Sleep problems in children are routinely linked with lower social competence and more problems in peer relationships, but we really don’t understand what drives these associations.

“As we suspected, children who displayed less positive facial expressions in response to pleasant images when sleep-restricted were reported to have more social problems two years later, even when controlling for earlier social problems.”

Prof Alfano added: “For younger children, more explicit behaviours such as sharing and taking turns may be more important for friendships than subtle facial expressions.

“However, emotional expression becomes more important with age.

“Facial expressions not only provide others with an understanding of how you are feeling but are known to have a contagion effect on how others feel.”