Sleep, glorious sleep.

Winter is a great time to develop good sleeping habits.  There’s a lot of press coverage of how sleep deprivation is affecting children’s and teen’s academic performance, weight, behavior, safety, mental health…. We all know they need to sleep the problem is helping them get the sleep they need. 

(http://www.helium.com/items/1627943-effects-of-sleep-deprivation-on-children)

The National Sleep Foundation recommends these basic daily sleep requirements for children, adolescents, pre-teens and teens: 

Preschoolers:  11-13 hours

Elementary school students:  10-12 hours

Pre-teens:  9-11 hours

Teens:  8.5-9 hours

Here’s something I hadn’t considered:

Put some thought into finding your child’s ideal bedtime.  In the evening, look for the time when your child really is starting to slow down and getting physically tired. That's the time that they should be going to sleep, so get their bedtime routine done and get them into bed before that time. If you wait beyond that time, then your child tends to get a second wind.  At that point they will become more difficult to handle, and will have a harder time falling asleep. 

(This is in the section: How do I teach my child good sleep habits?  Here are some "Do’s and Don’ts"J

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/sleep.htm

Go to website for more details on creating a healthy sleep pattern for your kids. )

Hoban’s 5 tips for healthy back-to-school sleep habits for children and teens:

·         Keep a regular wake-up time and bedtime: If a child is having sleep problems, oversleeping or missing school, it’s important to create a regular sleep routine for them that will work seven days a week. “But children who only have occasional sleep problems may not require an extremely rigid schedule, and sometimes tolerate slightly greater flexibility of bedtime and wake-up time,” says Hoban.
 

• Establish a bedtime routine: A bedtime routine can help promote an easy and quick transition to nighttime sleep, he says. For younger children, try 15 to 30 minutes of quiet activities before bedtime, such as reading. Activities parents should discourage before bed include watching television, exercising, and using the computer or video games.
• Create a balanced schedule: Identify and prioritize activities that allow for downtime and sufficient sleep time. Help students avoid an overloaded schedule that can lead to stress and difficulty coping, which can contribute to poor health and sleep problems.
• Don’t use the weekends to catch up on sleep: The effects of going to bed late or sleeping in on the weekends can create sleep problems, especially for adolescents, says Hoban. “Children who are weekend night owls or sleep in on the weekends will often have a very different sleep pattern than they do on weekdays, increasing the likelihood for insomnia during the week and making it more difficult for them for them to fall asleep at an appropriate time on school nights.”
• Be a role model: Parents can be role models for school-aged children by establishing their own regular sleep schedules and a home environment conducive to healthy sleeping habits.

University of Michigan Health System Pediatric Sleep Specialist Timothy Hoban, M.D.,  http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=981

Pam Mintz

YMCA Parent Program Coordinator