But Why – A show for curious kids
Why is sleep important?
3/14/2025 | 1m 59sVideo has Closed Captions
Why is sleep important? Asks Annabelle from Canada
Sleep is more than a way to pass the time. It's a place for us to dream, relax, and most importantly: rest! Getting some shut eye might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it's critical for growing and maintaining a healthy life.
But Why – A show for curious kids is a local public television program presented by Vermont Public
But Why – A show for curious kids
Why is sleep important?
3/14/2025 | 1m 59sVideo has Closed Captions
Sleep is more than a way to pass the time. It's a place for us to dream, relax, and most importantly: rest! Getting some shut eye might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it's critical for growing and maintaining a healthy life.
How to Watch But Why – A show for curious kids
But Why – A show for curious kids is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAll animals sleep and humans sleep a lot.
By the time you turn 18, you will have spent about 40% of your life asleep.
But we don't always want to go to bed.
Why is sleep so important?
Sleep is really important for our bodies and brain to function at peak condition.
You may think your body just shuts down when you close your eyes, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Your body temperature drops while you're asleep and you don't require as much energy as you do while you're awake.
But that period of rest is when your immune system gets a chance to fight off the bad germs you might have encountere at school or out in the world.
So sleep helps keep you healthy and it keeps you mentally fit too.
Sleep helps you remember what you've learned.
You take in information while you're awake, but it sets in your brain while you're sleeping.
So if you're studying for a vocabulary or math test one of the best things you can do is get a good night's sleep before you take that test.
It will also help you remember that funny joke your friend told you that you just can't wait to tell someone else.
When you're a little kid, the areas around language and vision in your brain are really active while you're sleeping.
As you get older, the parts of your brain that start learning all the different things like math and reading those parts get a workout at night.
And teenagers brains are working on strengthening the parts involved in decision making and moods.
And here's something else.
Growth hormone is released while you're sleeping, so you literally grow in your sleep.
I knew I felt taller this morning.
To find out more about But Why and listen to our full episodes go to butwhykids.org
But Why – A show for curious kids is a local public television program presented by Vermont Public