We all know, as adults, that it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind of life’s trials and tribulations. In many cases, this type of lifestyle leads to erratic eating habits, inconsistent physical activity, and irregular sleeping patterns. In addition, parents that find themselves in this scenario often find that it can affect their children’s lifestyles as well.

If you frequently worry about sleep recommendations for children, you are not alone. A recent study proves that, first, parents have been worrying about this problem for approximately the last century, and second, their fears are based in reality. In fact, the study showed that the average child falls short of getting enough sleep each night by 37 minutes. Lisa Anne Matricciani, the lead author behind the University of South Australia study, described the findings as “surprising.”

Over a Century of Collected Sleep Studies and Research

In order to come to their conclusions, researchers at the University of South Australia at Adelaide examined study data collected between the years of 1897 and 2009. Most of the studies dealt with sleep recommendations for children and young teens.

The researchers were surprised to find that actual sleep amounts consistently fell short of recommended sleep amounts by around 30 minutes, regardless of the time period. Over the past century, recommended sleep amounts have declined at the same rate as actual sleep amounts, preserving the 30-minute gap.

Too Little Sleep? It Must be the “Stimulation of Modern Living”

According to Matricciani, child sleep recommendations offered by medical experts for the past 100+ years have been based on very little solid evidence. Rather, she and her team found that recommended sleep amounts for children are historically based on the notion that children are overwhelmed by the “stimulation of modern life.”

Close to a century ago, this “stimulation” referred to new technologies such as the radio and the light bulb. In the 1950s and moving forward, it referred to television. In more modern times, it refers to video games, the internet and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In other words, whenever a potentially time-consuming and child-friendly technology comes about, sleep experts blame it for preventing children from getting enough sleep.

According to Timothy Olds, a researcher who also worked on the study, the findings don’t indicate that kids get plenty of sleep, but rather that there’s little real evidence to support a precise minimum amount of required sleep. Olds believes that most child sleep recommendations are rooted in nothing more than the notion that the world is “moving too quickly” or that things are simply “more hectic” than they used to be.

Is Your Child Getting Enough Sleep?

Of course, you’re probably more concerned with whether your own child is getting enough sleep than whether children are sleeping enough on average. This is certainly a valid concern.

When children receive too little sleep, the consequences can include more injuries, a greater likelihood of alcohol and drug use, increased obesity risk and reduced performance in school.

Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a pediatrics professor at Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that the best way for parents to determine whether their children are getting enough sleep is by watching their behaviors and actions, not by watching the clock.

This is best accomplished by observing your child’s performance, personality and mood near the end of the day, in the early or later evening depending on their age. If the child is irritable, clingy and temperamental, they’re probably not getting enough sleep. If they’re still functioning properly and have a positive disposition, they’re probably sleeping correctly.

Child Sleep Recommendations: The Bottom Line

Although children are falling short of recommended sleep amounts by about 30 minutes on average, a recent study suggests that sleep recommendations are rarely based in proven science anyway. The only real way to know whether your children are getting enough sleep is to observe their behaviors and attitudes.

The full text of the study is available now in the medical journal Pediatrics.