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Back to School Sleep Schedule
August 2, 2009 |
The clock is ticking. Soon, students will be headed back to school after
those days of staying up late and sleeping in.
Now might be the perfect time to get those sleep schedules back on track. “Ideally
you should go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time even through
the summer, however, its now the end of the summer and we haven’t been doing that,
then yes,” suggests Dr. Jose Colon, Medical Director for Pediatric Sleep Medicine
for The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.
He says the earlier you start, the better. “It may take anywhere from one to two
weeks to get your sleep-wake cycle readjusted.”
He suggests moving sleeping and waking times up a half an hour each night from now
until the first day of school to get everyone back into a rhythm. “The most common
mistake is that parents will put their children to sleep at the exact desired bedtime
the night before school and there’s already a lot of anxiety.” Also, make it a family
affair. “Ideally, the parents should also follow this sleep waking cycle.”
Dr. Colon adds that a slow transition into bedtime is good, too. Avoid electronics
30 minutes before bed. Sometimes a warm bath can also be relaxing for kids.
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