LIMA — The start of the 2015-16 school year is right around the corner, and for adolescents and teens, this is not only a time to prepare their brains for upcoming projects and tests, it’s also a time to start adjusting their sleep schedules.
Experts agree that maintaining a proper sleep schedule is important for school-age children, but it can also prove difficult, especially when transitioning from staying up late in the summer to waking up early for school.
“We are seeing that school-age children are definitely much busier than previously and as a result, they are going to bed later and later,” said Amy Stewart, lead technologist at St. Rita’s Sleep Disorders Center. “When school starts up, it’s really hard for them to get back in that routine.”
Stewart said adolescents ages 6 to 13 need between nine and 11 hours of sleep per night, and teenagers ages 14 to 17 need eight to 10 hours. However, recent studies have shown that children in these age groups are getting eight or fewer hours of sleep on average.
Stewart said sleep problems in teens and adolescents have become a public health issue. She said without the proper amount of sleep, school-age children have a harder time listening and concentrating, are generally more irritable and can exhibit aggressive behavior.
“It can also cause weight gain because people who are tired tend to eat a bit more and are eating unhealthy foods like candy and fried stuff,” Stewart said.
Stewart said maintaining a proper sleep schedule — going to sleep and waking up at the same time — is the most important factor in reducing sleep-related issues. She said that for parents, establishing a bedtime routine with their children is the best way to combat this problem.
To get back into a normal routine, Stewart said parents should have their children start going to bed earlier and earlier in the two weeks before school begins.
“Every night, set an earlier bedtime — maybe 15 minutes or a half-hour at a time — and have them wake up around the same time each morning,” she said.
For younger children, Stewart recommends parents give them a bath and read them a bedtime story to help them relax before falling asleep. For older children, Stewart said limiting the amount of time spent on electronic devices before bed is crucial.
“That’s a big issue right now,” she said. “A lot of parents allow their kids to fall asleep with the TV on or let them play video games. Violent video games especially trigger that fight or flight reaction in the brain that stimulates the brain. You’re going to be alert for quite some time after that.”
Stewart said staring at screens before bed is bad for the brain because light from the device tells it to stay awake.
“You want to try to keep them away from electronics at least an hour before you want them to go to bed,” Stewart said, though she admitted it can be a struggle for parents.
In general, Stewart said the more relaxed children are, the easier they will fall asleep.
If a proper sleep schedule is maintained, Stewart said children will be happier and healthier.
“You’ll see them better able to concentrate in school,” she said. “They’ll be more alert and won’t be as grumpy. It’s challenging, but I think you’re going to see them better perform in school and build better personal relationships.”
