Back-to-school reset: How to fix kids' summer sleep schedule

A consistent bedtime schedule signals the brain and body that it’s time to wind down. It makes it easier to fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling rested. For students, it is key to stay focused and attentive in class.

Before the school season starts again, experts recommend easing kids back into a routine.

“We don't say ‘ get good sleep ’ just because,” said Gabrina Dixon, a paediatrician at Children's National Hospital in the United States. “It really helps kids learn and it helps them function throughout the day.”

The amount of sleep kids need changes as they age. While preschoolers should get up to 13 hours of sleep, tweens need between nine and 12 hours, and teenagers do best with eight to 10 hours of shut-eye.

When children don’t get enough sleep, they can have difficulty paying attention in class, experience daytime sleepiness, have lower energy levels and become irritable.

Set an earlier bedtime

Early bedtimes can slip through the cracks over the summer as kids stay up for sleepovers, movie marathons and long plane flights. To get back on track, experts recommend setting earlier bedtimes a week or two before the first day of school or gradually going to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier each night.

“If your child’s sleep schedule needs to be shifted, that shift should be slow,” Brian Chen, a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic, recommends. “Making a sudden change can leave kids sleep-deprived and groggy.”

Children should not be served a heavy meal before bed and should avoid TV or screen time for two hours before sleep. Instead, they can engage in relaxing activities, such as showering or reading a story.

“You're trying to take the cognitive load off your mind,” said Nitun Verma, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told the Associated Press. “It would be like if you're driving, you're slowly letting go of the gas pedal.”

Parents can adjust their back-to-school plans based on what works best for their child.

In the morning, soaking in some daylight by sitting near a window or going outside can help train the brain to power up, Verma said.

Squash back-to-school sleep anxiety

Sleep quality matters just as much as duration. First-day jitters can make it hard to fall asleep no matter how early the bedtime.

Dixon says parents can talk to their kids to find out what is making them anxious. Is it the first day at a new school? Is it a fear of making new friends? They can then try a test run of stressful activities before school starts to make those tasks feel less scary — for example, by visiting the school or meeting classmates at an open house.

The weeks leading up to school can be jam-packed and it's not always possible to prep a routine in advance. But kids will adjust eventually, so sleep experts say parents should do what they can. After all, their kids aren't the only ones adjusting to a new routine.

“I always say, 'Take a deep breath, it'll be okay,'” Dixon said. “And just start that schedule.”