August 6, 2024

Back to school: Now is the time to start adjusting kids’ sleep schedules

MADISON, Wis. — Most kids don’t want to think about summer ending and going back to school yet, but now is the time to start thinking about adjusting kids' sleep schedules to make it a smooth transition back to the classroom, according to a UW Health Kids expert.

Relaxed routines of summer, such as going to bed later or sleeping in, are fun parts of childhood, but families should start having kids get up at the normal time they would for school at least two weeks before the first day, according to Dr. Casey Freymiller, general pediatrician, UW Health Kids.

“In reality, most kids do not prepare their sleep schedule before the first day of school and are grumpy and have a tough transition back to school,” said Freymiller, who is also an assistant professor of pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “In a perfect world families should use most of August to prep, but starting by mid-August is a good goal because it takes time to adjust to the school sleep schedule again.”

Sleep is critical to learning, and if kids do not get enough sleep, they have slower response times, mental fogginess, heightened emotional responses and have trouble remembering what they learned in school, he said.

The amount of sleep needed changes over childhood. Newborns, for example, need to sleep most of the day and night, while a 3-year-old needs about 12 hours, a 10-year-old needs about 10 hours, and that number goes down as you get older, Freymiller said.

“The bottom line is kids need at least nine hours of sleep through childhood,” he said.

Eighty percent of teenagers are not getting enough sleep and sleep is connected to mental health especially depression, according to a 2024 report from the National Sleep Foundation.

“Teens especially are on screens using social media before bed which can impact their quality of sleep,” Freymiller said. “Putting the phones down and having rules about social media use can help.”

One of the most important factors affecting our sleep is sunlight exposure. Having a consistent wake-up time and getting sunlight exposure in the morning will "set your clock" and help the body feel ready for bed at the end of the day, typically after 16 hours or so, he said.

“Good sleep helps everyone learn and grow,” Freymiller said.