How to get kids back on a sleep schedule for the school year
NEW YORK — After a summer of vacations and late nights, it's time to set those back-to-school alarms.
A good night's sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class. Experts say it's worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of a new school year.
'We don't say ' get good sleep ' just because,' said pediatrician Dr. Gabrina Dixon with Children's National Hospital. 'It really helps kids learn and it helps them function throughout the day.'
The amount of sleep kids need changes as they age. Preschoolers should get up to 13 hours of sleep. Tweens need between nine and 12 hours. Teenagers do best with eight to 10 hours of shut-eye.
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.
Don't eat a heavy meal before bed and avoid TV or screen time two hours before sleep. Instead, work in relaxing activities to slow down like showering and reading a story.
'You're trying to take the cognitive load off your mind,' said Dr. Nitun Verma, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. '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. Nikkya Hargrove moves her twin daughters' bedtimes up by 30 minutes the week before school starts.
Sometimes, her 10-year-olds will negotiate for a few extra minutes to stay up and read. Hargrove said those conversations are important as her children get older and advocate for themselves. If they stay up too late and don't have the best morning, Hargrove said that can be a learning experience too.
'If they're groggy and they don't like how they feel, then they know, 'OK, I have to go to bed earlier,'' said Hargrove, an author and independent bookstore owner from Connecticut.
In the morning, soaking in some daylight by sitting at 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? Then they might 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 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 OK,'' Dixon said. 'And just start that schedule.'
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Adithi Ramakrishnan, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Why UnitedHealth Stock Dipped Today After Bumping Higher Monday
Key Points One pundit tracking the stock became less bullish on its future. He knocked down his price target by 37%. 10 stocks we like better than UnitedHealth Group › What the stock analysis community giveth, it can also taketh away. That was the dynamic behind the slide of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) stock on Tuesday. As in the previous trading session, the big insurer was affected by an analyst's price target move. This time, however, this took the form of a cut rather than a raise. UnitedHealth closed the day down by 1.5% in value, a worse showing than the S&P 500 's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) 0.6% decrease. A chop from a bull The analyst behind the slice was Lance Wilkes from Bernstein SocGen Group. Well before the market open Tuesday, Wilkes took a powerful weed whacker to his UnitedHealth fair value assessment, reducing it to $377 per share; formerly, he believed it was worth as much as $594. Despite the rather drastic adjustment, he maintained his recommendation of outperform (buy, in other words). According to reports, Wilkes wrote in his UnitedHealth update that he expects the company's performance to remain weak through this year, and has commensurately reduced his earnings estimate and target P/E. For the former, he cut his per-share profitability for full-year 2026 by 13%, and for the latter to 12.5 from the preceding 18. The analyst also cited sluggish growth in the insurer's key OptumHealth unit as a reason for his price target cut. Warren likes it UnitedHealth has landed on many an investor's radar following news last week that Berkshire Hathaway had plonked down $1.6 billion for a stake in the company. Anytime Warren Buffett 's investment vehicle buys (or sells, for that matter) a pack of stock for its equity portfolio, the target company becomes a lightning rod for investors. Buffett and Berkshire surely see a company that has potential to reach. Others might consider it something of a clunky underperformer that's fairly -- or even overly -- valued these days. Should you invest $1,000 in UnitedHealth Group right now? Before you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and UnitedHealth Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,466!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,633!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,077% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
OnlineMed launches its Online Service, providing instant Access to Instant Doctor's Notes Online
OnlineMed introduced an online service to allow doctors to write absent notes without physically visiting schools or workplaces. OnlineMed has officially been launched and is set to change the way Americans can access virtual doctor's notes. This idea will address the hectic visits to the doctor's clinic, even when the world is moving fast and working with technology. The entire process of getting a note written by a doctor for being absent finally has a convenient and smooth way, making people's lives easier. People can finally avoid the long waiting hours and the additional medical fees. Workplaces and schools always demand a legitimate doctor's note for being absent, and people always hated visiting the clinic for this trivial task, and for the longest time, no one ever thought of bringing a solution to this. However, OnlineMed understood the need at the right time and, by utilizing the latest technology, they are enabling people to access these notes from the comfort of their homes. They will be provided with these notes in a matter of a few hours. The process of accessing a genuine doctor's note has been kept extremely easy. People simply have to go to the website and request a doctor's written note. This process eliminates the compulsion of being physically present at the clinic for a simple task that requires a minimum amount. OnlineMed understood this need of the majority right at the time and has introduced this service at $39. At the time of launch, the founder, Justin Garner, said, 'I have been through the hectic process of getting a doctor's note many times. It not only costed me money but also my time, which I could have utilized better. This website addresses this issue very well, and even if it takes a couple of hours to provide the note, you can still stay at your home and not wait in the waiting rooms.' OnlineMed not only provides you with online medical note service, but also ensures that the doctors they are working with are legitimate and hold a degree. Before issuing you the note, every request goes through review and then only gets issued by a licensed provider, making the notes legit and accurate. The task of developing OnlineMed was started back in October 2024 and finally took its shape now. Though this will help everyone to get the doctor's appointment right on time and at a very convenient cost, it will especially come as a relief to those who work for hourly gigs, full-time parents, and working multiple jobs. Those who had to travel a long distance will also find this very useful. The launch of OnlineMed will put people at ease, and the services may be utilized for bigger and better causes. In the time when online services are making things easier, the traditional method did feel like a burden, but not anymore. The website is now live, and anyone can request the doctor's written note. Media Contact Company Name: OnlineMed Contact Person: Justin Garner Email: Send Email City: Sheridan State: WY Country: United States Website:
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
5th death linked to Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has sickened dozens in New York City
This 1978 electron microscope image made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Legionella pneumophila bacteria which are responsible for causing Legionnaires' disease. (Francis Chandler/CDC via AP, File) NEW YORK — Health officials have uncovered another death in connection with a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City, health officials said. The outbreak in Central Harlem has sickened dozens since it began in late July and the latest death was announced late Monday night. Officials said they had concluded the death of a person with the disease who died before mid-August is associated with the cluster, bringing the death toll in the city to five. Fourteen people were hospitalized as of Monday, according to the health department. The bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease had been discovered in 12 cooling towers on 10 buildings, including a city-run hospital and sexual health clinic, health officials said. Remediation efforts have since been completed on all of the cooling towers. Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia that is caused by Legionella bacteria, which grow in warm water and spread through building water systems. The city's outbreak has been linked to cooling towers, which use water and a fan to cool buildings. People usually develop symptoms — a cough, fever, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath — between two days to two weeks after exposure to the bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. City health officials say people who live or work in the area should contact a health care provider if they develop flu-like symptoms.
