The quick answer
Sleep gives your body time to grow and repair itself. Your brain uses the night to sort and save what you learned during the day. Children aged 6 to 12 need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep each night.
RankiTanki, sleep feels like such a waste of time. I could be building robots instead. Why do we need it?
TankiSleep isn’t lazy at all. Your body and brain work a whole night shift while you snooze. Let me show you.
Your body’s night shift
When you fall asleep, your body does not just switch off. It gets busy with jobs that are hard to do while you are running around. Scientists are still finding out about all of them. But they already know some of the big ones.
- Your body grows. A lot of growing happens while you sleep.
- Small cuts and bruises heal, and tired muscles recover.
- Your body gets better at fighting off , so you stay well.
- You fill up your energy for the next day.
Your brain tidies up
During the day, your brain collects lots of new things. A new word, a maths trick, the name of a new friend. At night, your brain sorts it all out. It keeps the important things and stores them as . It is a bit like tidying a messy room and putting everything on the right shelf.
That is why a good night’s sleep helps you learn. After sleeping, people often remember things better than before. A tired brain finds it harder to , which means to keep your mind on one thing.
Why do we dream?
Sleep comes in different , a bit like the levels in a game. In one stage, your eyes dart quickly from side to side under your eyelids. It is called , which stands for eye movement. Rapid means very fast. Most dreams happen during REM sleep.
Why do we dream at all? Scientists are not sure yet. Some think dreams help the brain sort through feelings and memories. Others think dreams are the busy brain playing with ideas. What do you think?
RankiSo when I dream about flying to Mars, my brain is secretly tidying up?
TankiMaybe. A space trip and a tidy brain at the same time. Not bad for lying still.
How much sleep do you need?
Children aged 6 to 12 need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep every night. That is more than most grown-ups need, because you are still growing. These ideas help many people sleep well:
- Go to bed at about the same time every night.
- Switch off screens a while before bedtime.
- Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and cosy.
- Do something calm before bed, like reading a book.
Try it
Keep a sleep diary
You need
What to do
- Write the days of the week in your notebook.
- Each night, write down what time you go to bed.
- Each morning, write down what time you wake up.
- Write how you feel: sleepy, okay or full of energy.
- After a week, count your hours. Do you feel better after a long night’s sleep?
RankiOkay, sleep is not a waste of time. It’s more like charging my batteries for tomorrow.
TankiExactly. Sweet dreams, Ranki. Maybe tonight you’ll build a robot in your sleep!
Big words
- germs
- Tiny living things that can make you ill.
- memories
- Things your brain keeps so you can remember them later.
- concentrate
- To keep your mind on one thing.
- stages
- Different parts or steps of something, one after the other.
- REM sleep
- A stage of sleep when your eyes move fast and most dreams happen.
- rapid
- Very fast.
Quick quiz
1. How much sleep do children aged 6 to 12 need each night?
Children are still growing, so they need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep.
2. What does your brain do with new things while you sleep?
At night your brain tidies up and keeps the important things as memories.
3. In which kind of sleep do most dreams happen?
Most dreams happen in REM sleep, when your eyes move quickly.
For parents and teachers
Health guidance in the UK suggests about 9 to 12 hours of sleep for children aged 6 to 12, though every child is a little different. A calm, regular bedtime routine with screens off well before lights out helps many children. The sleep diary is a gentle way to talk about how sleep affects mood and energy.
Pictures marked “AI generated” were made with AI tools. Ranki and Tanki are AI generated characters. Found a mistake? Write to info@pr-geo.com and we will fix it.
