The clock is ticking for some students as they wait for the first day of school.
Many parents are getting ahead of the curve by utilizing some recommendations from sleep experts.
The first tip is to slowly and gradually get their children back into a routine.
Akeeta Anderson says there’s a constant struggle to get her daughters back on track for sleeping.
“It’s not hard getting them in the bed, it’s just hard getting to go to sleep,” said Anderson. “We are trying to buckle down before the start of school.”
Anderson says it’s a little easier said than done even with set guidelines.
“Bedtime is 8:30 in my household but sometimes the girls are used to being up and streaming and doing all other things that kids do,” said Anderson. “We are hoping to brush our teeth earlier and beginning the process of winding down.”
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The key is starting early before the new school year.
Dr. Lynelle Schneeberg is a sleep psychologist and mentions proper planning equals much success.
“I encourage parents to start getting them up a little bit earlier so change the rise time back to the time that they would need for the school day,” said Dr. Schneeberg.
Dialing back on the amount of time kids are using their electronics is another issue to address.
“A lot of times the blue light from your mobile devices makes your brain think that it is still daytime, still wake-time so that’s issue number one,” Schneeberg said.
Schneeberg says there’s always a temptation to keep lurking on social media which can be dangerous for teenagers.
“By staying up earlier, it opens the door for cyber-bullies to enter right before kids head to bed,” said Schneeberg. “As it get’s closer to the start of school, it would be great to pick a book and a book light and turning those screens off an hour before bedtime.”
Schneeberg says nightly routines are great for getting kids ready for sleep but it extends beyond the night.
“If you do the same thing every night in the same order, it starts to help you get sleepy when you need to,” ,” said Schneeberg. “Sun light exposure, activity and a meal are imperative.
Schneeberg says those three ingredients, sun-light exposure, activity and a meal, are key to a recipe of success.
Maria Conti has two daughters and agrees with earlier bedtimes.
“It makes my life so much easier the next morning when they're in the bed and wake up in a good mood,” said Conti. “
But, sometimes the struggle can begin at night creating more hardships for parents. Schneeberg says you may want to start giving your kids "sleep tickets”.
"You can finish the routines, say goodnight to your child give them a couple of tickets, these are just little tickets, you make yourself,” said Schneeberg.
Conti says she plans to try out these suggestions soon.
“We’ll make sure to try to get them to bed as early as they can,” said Conti. “I think it will help the kids especially their development and learning at school."
