July 30, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It’s time for kids to go back to school, and many parents struggle to get their children on a normal sleep schedule after a summer of staying up late and sleeping in. Kristin Avis, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatric pulmonary medicine and psychologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Sleep Disorder Clinic, offers these tips for reversing kids’ lenient summer sleep schedules:
- Begin moving bedtime earlier by 15 to 30 minutes every few days. A rapid change from a later bedtime to a much earlier one will most likely result in the child lying awake in bed unable to fall asleep.
- Set a consistent bedtime for every day of the week. Changing the bedtime on Friday and Saturday nights only makes it more difficult to wake up Monday morning and get back on track.
- Reduce the children’s caffeine intake. Although the summer may have been filled with sleepovers and pool parties where caffeinated drinks were available, caffeine makes it very difficult for children to fall asleep.
“When a child wakes up tired, it affects his or her academic performance, so a good night’s sleep is very important,” she said, “especially since most academic activities take place in the morning at school.”
And, as parents commonly set bedtimes for their younger children, Avis says they need to be involved in their teenagers’ sleep schedule as well.