Back to School Sleep Schedule

August 16, 2019

The back to school count down has started, and one of the things I always worry about is, how to get back to a reasonable bed time, and how much sleep does my daughter really need!!!

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine the following is recommended:

https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/pediatricsleepdurationconsensus.pdf

Children 1-2 years of age should sleep 11-14 hours over 24 hours including naps

Children 3-5 years of age should sleep 10-13 hours over 24 hours including naps

Children 6-12 years of age should sleep 9-12 hours

Children 13-18 years of age should sleep 9-10 hours

To avoid dragging my daughter out of bed for the first month of school, I start waking her up 10 minutes earlier, and going to bed 10 minutes earlier each day until we are at our ideal wake up time. This takes us about 7 days since we stay up and wake up about 70 minutes later in the summer.

To get back on a sleep schedule I find having a bed time routine can be very helpful. Ours takes about 1 hour, and goes like this: 1 hour before bed time we turn off electronics. During the first 30 minutes we have room time. This is a time to relax, read books, play quietly with toys, do a simple craft, or write in a journal. The second 30 minutes before bed time we get on our pjs, brush our teeth, and go to the bathroom. With any time left over she is allowed to read or write/color in her bed until lights out. I have also found that going on a walk before our bed time routine can be helpful. I find this is a nice time to talk about our day, and talk about anything that might keep us up past bed time. I also try to remember that sometimes you just can't sleep! If that is the case, we may take a night time walk, sit outside and look at the stars, or allow for her to read a book or color for a few extra minutes.

For more on tips for falling asleep visit: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14306-healthy-sleep-habits-for-children