Sleep to grow smart?

Sleep is undisputable an essential part of our life, if we do not sleep enough we feel the consequences the next day. The importance of sleep for healthy brain functioning has been well studied in adults, but less is known for the role of sleep in the paediatric age. Childhood and adolescence is a critical phase for brain development. The increased need for sleep during this developmental phase fosters the growing recognition for a central role of sleep during development. In this review we summarize the findings that demonstrate a close relationship between sleep and brain maturation, discuss the consequences of insufficient sleep during childhood and adolescence and outline initial attempts that have been made in order to improve sleep in this age range.