A South Australia Professor has claimed that numerous Australian kids sleep late on Sunday nights, which puts them in a “sleep deficit”, which directly hinders their school performance during the weekdays.

Professor Tim Olds studied sleep patterns of over 4000 school-going children across Australia, and found that numerous kids were deprived of their sleep by almost 2 to 3 hours than the adequate amount.

Professor Olds stated that sleep deprivation affected not only their education, but more. “Kids who are overweight and obese, sleep less. And it's probably because they sleep less they have a predisposition to being overweight, and not the other way around”, said Professor Olds.

Prof Olds said that weight gain could very well be the consequence of these particular kids being less active in general, as he found that these children watched television or spent more time in front a computer or a game console more than usual.

The Professor added that a poor sleeping habit can cause hormonal changes in a child’s body that can promote obesity.

The details of the study can be found in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.