Most children sleep less than their parents believe — and they're not getting enough, study finds

Children need adequate sleep for optimal learning and for their mental and physical health. But a new study finds that few kids are getting the recommended amount of shut-eye, even though their parents think they are sleeping sufficient hours.

The research, published in Frontiers in Pediatrics , found that 83% of parents reported that their children were logging the recommended hours of sleep each night. In reality, only 14% of children in the study actually met guidelines. MORE: Costco is selling weight-loss drugs Ozempic, Wegovy at discounted prices

"What parents often don't see is how long it takes for kids to fall asleep or how often they wake up during the night," Diana S. Grigsby-Toussaint, the study's senior author and an associate professor at Brown University School of Publ