Saturday Sleep Tip

Let's take a minute and look at our children's daily schedules. What do they look like? What is filling their time? Do we compromise our children's sleep to fit everything in (sports, ballet, exercise, errands, dinner, homework)?

"Overstimulated, overscheduled kids are getting at least an hour's less sleep than they need, a deficiency that, new research reveals, has the power to set their cognitive abilities back years." (Bronson, NYmag).

Have you asked your child/teen if they are tired? If they have daytime sleepiness? Do they fall asleep in class? Are they cranky and irritable (more than is age appropriate)?

"While parents obsess over babies' sleep, this concern falls off the priority list after preschool. Even kindergartners get 30 minutes less a night than they used to."

How much sleep does your child get? How much should they get? In general, newborns should nap after 1-2 hours of being awake and then sleep for a large amount of time with feedings mixed in. Infants will then transition to a three or maybe straight to a two nap a day schedule through 12-18 months. They should get 14-15 hours of sleep. Toddlers will have an afternoon nap and should get about 12-14 hours of sleep per day. Preschoolers may or may not have an afternoon nap and will continue with 11-13 hours of sleep per day. School age children should get 10-11 hours per day. Adolescents should get 8 1/2- 9 1/2 hours per day.

"There are many causes for this lost hours of sleep. Overscheduling of activities, burdensome homework, lax bedtimes, televisions and cell phones in the bedroom all contribute. So does guilt; home from work after dark, parents want time with their children..."

I would take a good look at all the activities that fill my child's time. What is necessary? What can be cut? How can time be used more efficiently and effectively so they can get the needed amount of sleep? When as a parent do I need to say no? What rules and boundaries need to be put into effect in my house?

"... sleep affects academic performance and emotional stability, as well as phenomena that we assumed to be entirely unrelated, such as the international obesity epidemic and the rise of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A few scientists theorize that sleep problems during formative years can cause permanent changes in a child's brain structure: damage that one can't sleep off... It's even possible that many of the hallmark characteristics of being a tweener and teen- moodiness, depression, and even binge eating- are actually symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation."

Even though these studies are not conclusive, you get the idea that the effects of poor sleep or sleep deprivation are serious. We all know that a well-rested Me is better than it's exhausted counter-part. We need sleep to function well, and our children need sleep as well. We have to be the authority that makes this happen.