China has laid out minimum requirements on sleeping hours for children and teenagers to curb sleep deprivation, which can impair their growth and development, the Ministry of Education said at a press conference, The Xinhua News Agency reports.
"Primary-school pupils should get a minimum of 10 hours of sleep a day, while students at middle and high schools should sleep no less than nine and eight hours per day, respectively", - said Lyu Yugang, an official with the ministry.
He was briefing on a circular about the country's latest efforts to improve the sleep quality of students receiving primary and secondary education.
The recommended bedtimes for students were listed too, being no later than 9:20 p.m. for primary-school pupils, 10:00 p.m. for middle-school students, and 11:00 p.m. for high-school students.
"According to a survey conducted in the country's 10 provincial-level regions, primary-school pupils log an average sleep duration of 9.5 hours a day, while middle-school students log 8.4 hours", - said Lyu, noting that the excessive curriculum burden has affected some students' sleep.
"Homework, off-campus counselling and video games must make way for students' quality sleep," - said the official.
Education authorities will deploy technical means to make sure no video-game service is available to minors from 22:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., according to the circular.
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