Early to bed, early to rise

Getting back into the school routine isn’t always easy – especially when it comes to sleep routines.

It’s not uncommon during summer for children to change sleeping habits – staying up later and sleeping in longer. That can make getting back into a school schedule challenging.

But there are steps parents can take to help their child with a healthy sleep schedule, says Northbay Health pediatrician Bruce Hewett, MD.

“One of the most important aspects of preparing your child for school is to establish a wake-up time that will transition them to a school schedule,” Dr. Hewett said. “Most parents try to adjust this by establishing an earlier bedtime; but a more effective strategy is to focus on the wake-up time.”

Dr. Hewett prefers a method that involves adjusting the child’s wake-up time by 15 to 20 minutes gradually in order to ease them into a new routine. For example, if your child is currently waking up at 10 am, and they need to adjust it to a 7 am wake-up time for school, then begin progressively moving the wake-up time 15–20 minutes earlier every three to four days.

“In less than two weeks they will be waking up at the targeted time, and this will allow them time to get ready for school,” Dr. Hewett said. “Interestingly, getting up earlier will naturally result in an earlier bedtime as long as you are providing good nutrition (especially a high-protein breakfast), exercise, outdoor sun exposure and avoid daytime naps.”

Once an earlier wake-up time is established, Dr. Hewett said parents should maintain close to the same schedule on weekends and holidays. Doing this, he said, will result in a high-quality circadian rhythm (day-night cycle for proper brain rest).

“A well-established circadian rhythm results in high-quality sleep,” he explained. “Most importantly, high-quality sleep is the foundation for learning the next day.”

Meet the Northbay Health pediatricians, or call 707-646-5500 to schedule an appointment today.