When Fall Arrives: Preparing Children (and Parents) for Going Back to School
Any parent who has ever faced the Herculean struggle of trying to drag a teenager out of bed in the morning for school has felt the stress September brings. Most parents have probably wondered at one point or another why their teenager seems so drained all of a sudden. Now, science shows that Circadian rhythms, that determine when we feel hungry, tired, and experience other bodily urges on a daily basis, do in fact shift as we age. As we go through different stages of life, we not only need different amounts of sleep, our bodies need that sleep at different times. A teenager feels alert and ready to learn at different times than do younger siblings, parents, or older people. For parents that work nights or shifts, helping understand children’s sleep schedules when you’re busy worrying about your own can be tough. Adapting to age-specific schedules can help families be the most prepared to enter the school year with the least stress possible.
For many children, going back to school brings excitement and anticipation. For some, there are worries and anxiety. The most anxiety about going back to school will occur at nighttime, while lying in bed. In the weeks before school starts besides shopping for new clothes, books and school supplies, families must begin to adjust their sleep wake patterns back to school time patterns. This can be especially challenging for families with shift working parents. Shift workers, working nights or evenings, may be less available in the evenings making it difficult for them to help facilitate their family’s adjustment to a back to school sleep schedule.
Younger school age children generally perform best with 10-12 hours of sleep each night; teens do best after nine to ten hours. In the summer, activities tend to start later (e.g. camps and vacations) and, because of the slower pace, getting enough sleep is easier in the summer. But as school starts and activities pick up, sleep is often at a premium for both children and parents.
A recent study of 900 US children ranging from 8 to 16 years of age, including boys and girls as from five racial/ethnic groups (Asian, African American, Caucasian, Hispanic and Native American) asked questions like the following: “Is it easy for you to get up in the morning?” and “Guess what! Your parents decided to let you set your own bedtime. What time would you pick?” Generally, young children get up earlier than teens and since they need more sleep to perform better, their bedtime is earlier. Teens need less sleep and want to go to bed later and sleep in later into the morning. The study found that younger children’s time of day preference was more toward the morning and older children’s preference was more toward the evening.
The shift toward evening preference appears to occur around the age of 13. The shift occurred in both boys and girls, so it cannot be attributed simply to the onset of puberty, which on average, occurs about two years earlier for girls than boys. The shift occurred in students examined at different time of the year and in various educational environments, including both summer and winter, and in private and public school students. So the shift cannot simply be attributed to changes associated with time of year or school environments. It appears that morning/evening preferences in children are physiologically based.
In North America, older children start school earlier in the morning than younger children. Parents of teens struggle to get them out of bed in the morning and teachers have to work extra hard to keep them awake in early morning classes. It is interesting that as teens are moving away from being morning people, the structure of their day is organized around early school start times. This makes it even more challenging for families to adjust back to school time sleep after summer vacation.
Parents should start to work with kids several weeks before the actual school start date to maximize the adjustment back to school time sleep. Use the following ideas to develop the right adjustment plan for your family:
- The choices involved in developing a back to school sleep plan for the family should be discussed as a group with consideration given to everyone’s input, as long as the input facilitates a positive adjustment.
- All family members could start going to sleep a half an hour or so earlier than they have been during the summer every few days during the two weeks preceding the start of school. So, a child going to sleep at 10 p.m. might start going to bed at 9:30. An adult shift worker working the night shift, who may have been coming home by 8:30 a.m. and going to bed at 10 a.m., might now go to sleep at 9:30 a.m. It is important that all family members feel part of the adjustment process.
- The preparation for bedtime routines could be reconsidered. For example, watching
television right up to bedtime which may have occurred during the summer could be
replaced by reading a book or listening to quiet music before going to bed. So, a child
going to bed at 9:30 might head up to bed at 8:30 giving them enough time to change,
brush their teeth and read a book for a half an hour. A shift worker working the evening
shift, reaching home at midnight, might skip watching television altogether and instead
get into bed and listen to quiet music before falling asleep. - Exercise routines may need to be revisited. Exercising close to bedtime generally makes the body less ready for sleep. So, children should exercise earlier in the day. Shift
workers working nights or evenings should exercise before their shift or during their
shift, if exercise facilities are available. - Eating times and diet should be re-evaluated. Meals should be finished at least three hours before sleep for good digestion. Snacks, if necessary, before bed should be light, without sugar and caffeine. Food shopping should be oriented to healthy food choices.
- Shift workers working nights should keep in mind that since the digestive system is less efficient at night, night time eating should be light.
Finally, document what seems to work and not work on the plan so you can revise it next year!
Good luck!
Tags: children, circadian rhythms, Parenting, relaxation, sleep
