It could be one of the hardest sleeping transitions of the year. As summer comes to a close, kids across the country are forced to trade in their TV watching for textbooks, play dates for pencils and bid goodbye to late nights and sleeping in.
At the George house in St. Cloud, MN that transition is already in full swing. Jill and husband Scott are in week one of waking up their kids for school.
“They are also so different in how they react,” Jill said about her kids. “The transition was hardest for Gracie (an elementary student) because her school starts so early. It wasn’t as big of an adjustment for the others.”
Making the annual summer to school adjustment takes planning at the George house. Jill and Scott are parents to five kids — one still in diapers and the others in elementary school, middle school and high school. And with their school district having staggered start times, that means different wake up and bed times.
“Gracie generally gets up around 6:15 while the others kids wake up sometime before 7:00,” Jill said. “Everybody has to get ready so our morning shuttle can get to different schools at different times.”
But parents with kids know waking up and getting to school is only part of the battle. It is the start of homework, extracurricular activities, games and practices. Sleep gets sandwiched between all of these.
“We usually try to get the kids to bed before 10:00 p.m.,” Jill said. “But it can be hard. The kids have homework, hockey practice sometimes goes until 9:30 and then we still need to get in everybody in the shower before the night is over. Sometimes it is hard to wake them up.”
Not getting enough sleep
While Jill and Scott do their best to make sure their kids get enough sleep, that is not the same story in every household. Nationwide about 45% of adolescents are not getting the nine hours of sleep they need on school nights and another 31% are on the borderline of inadequate sleep, according to a 2006 National Sleep Foundation poll of about 1,600 telephone interviews.
Extracurricular activities and homework are not the only reasons keeping America’s children awake longer. It is a combination of environmental factors, physiological factors and other medical conditions that affect physical and mental well-being, says Dr. Ghazala Quraishi, a physician at the Fusion Sleep Center in Atlanta, Ga.
She points to using electronics late at night as one environmental cause. This includes watching television, computer use and even talking or texting on the phone. The bright light from these electronics that disrupts the brain and makes it hard to sleep.
“The brain needs darkness at bedtime,” Dr. Quraishi said in a phone interview. “There is a pathway from the eye to the brain and when there is to much light, the brain cannot release the chemicals needed to help us sleep. The light from TV and video games tricks the brain.”
Dr. Quraishi says using these devices late night makes it difficult for kids to function the next day. It can also lead to Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, which creates an imbalance in the body’s clock.
“Some kids want to go to sleep at 3:00 a.m. and wake up at 3:00 p.m., Dr. Quraishi said. “That is okay if you do not have commitements but kids do have school and can easily fall asleep at the wrong times because of an unbalanced sleep schedule.
More problems made worse
Sluggish performance in school and tiredness are not the only effects of not getting a good night’s sleep. Dr. Quraishi said the problems can go further.
“With kids in the short-term it can lead to mood problems, irritability, headaches and for old teenagers, they are more accident prone when driving,” Dr. Quraishi said. “They [the kids] are almost acting like they have ADD.”
In addition, students that are already having problems falling asleep because of existing depression, pain, apnea and anxiety may see those symptoms worsen.
The Weekend Solution
So, what is the solution? Getting more sleep — but it is not that easy.
A lot of parents and kids use the weekend as a time to “catch up” on lost sleep. But this still creates inconsistent wake up and bed times for the body and does not solve the problem.
“It’s like flipping a switch,” Dr. Quraishi said. “Some students who live it up on the weekend cannot readjust to a school sleep schedule by Monday.”
To compromise with the body, she suggests sleeping in no later than 1.5 hours than the wake up time on a weekday.
Fixing the Problem
Going to bed and waking up at consistent times during the week as well as getting an adadqute amount of sleep are good steps to start on the path to sleeping better.
Along with the problems and suggestions already discussed, staying away from caffeineted drinks in the afternoon, late night meals and intense physical exercise before sleeping will help.
And encourage children to stay on the couch or the table when doing homework — the bed should not be used as a sofa, Quraishi says.
Planning
For Jill and Scott George, keeping their kids on the right track also means having a plan. Jill uses Microsoft Outlook to keep track of each child’s schedule, plans meals ahead of time and shops whenever she has free time without the kids.
While most parents do not have to think about keeping up with five kids of all different ages, Jill’s advice to stay ahead of the game can apply to anyone with young kids and teenagers. Using time effectively can leave everyone with even a little more time to rest.
“Tonight was a lot,” Jill said about the kids’ first day of school. “I like the routine of the sumer and love no schedule but there is something nice about getting back into fall. We have to structure the time — everything is about the kids.”