The Relationship Between Executive Function And The Change Of Weekend Sleep Of The 8 To 9-year-old Children

Previous studies have shown that sleep significantly impact children’s executive functions(EFs).In order to explore the relationship between sleep and EFs, this study developed a computerised system to test children’s EFs.154 school-aged children from countryside in grade 3 and grade 4 participate in this study. Children’s one-week sleep condition was measured by sleep diary, the EFs was measured by computerized tasks twice in Monday and Thursday. Results show that:1. Children’s weekend sleep duration and bed-time change significantly,2. The connection between weekday EF performances and sleep are stronger than weekend,3. The weekend sleep changes have a stronger connection with working memory and inhibition control than with shifting,4. Compared with the change of weekend bed-time, the change of weekend sleep duration seems more closely to EFs,5. Regular children who sleep the same in weekday and weekend have got advantages in EFs considered their stable performance. The conclusion is that the relationship between executive function and the change of weekend sleep really exist in the group of 8 to 9-year-old children, overall the children who sleep regularly on weekday and weekend have better and stable performance on EFs.