Sueño y Rendimiento Académico en la Educación Primaria. Una Revisión Sistématica

Abstract

Background: Sleep is vital for human beings, fulfilling various functions for neuronal and metabolic repair and circuit reorganisation. It is important to know how it affects schoolchildren, given that its quantity and quality influence motivation, attention, memory, and academic achievement. Research is still scarce, providing discrepant results on the brain areas involved, the consequences, or how to intervene in inadequate sleep habits, despite the fact that inadequate sleep is known to lead to poorer academic performance. The general objective is to determine the influence of sleep on academic performance in primary education. The specific objectives are: to determine the most common sleep disorder in schoolchildren, the most influential in performance, and the instruments for its study. Method: a systematic review of scientific publications was conducted, applying search criteria and content analysis. Results: sleep is related to cognitive processes of focused attention and memory consolidation, as well as to academic performance, especially in mathematics, sciences, language, and sports. Conclusion-discussion: The neurological basis of sleep, the associated sleep disorders and their relationship with academic performance, and the need to promote healthy sleep habits by attending to affected cognitive areas and processes that interfere with learning are discussed.