The start of school brings a heightened awareness of how vital a good night's sleep is to a child's emotions, behavior and mental alertness.
  
   When the school year begins, more time is required for homework, after-school sports and social activities. The family household is often a hubbub of over-stimulating activity - full of bright lights, blaring TVs or irresistible bed-time diversions such as computers and video games.
  
   "Many children just don't get enough sleep during the school year, and this is often reflected in their academic and social performance," said John Herman, Ph.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Children's Medical Center Dallas and Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "While parents make proper nutrition a priority for their child, many parents forget to maintain that same vigilant attitude when it comes to a child's sleep needs."
  
   The Sleep Disorders Center is the only nationally accredited facility in North Texas that offers pediatric patients comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and a full-service treatment plan for sleeping disorders.
  
Sleep requirements
What is normal sleep? Typically, elementary-age children require 10 to 11 hours of sleep and children in middle school or high school require at least nine hours of sleep. In one study where teenagers were allowed to sleep uninterrupted, most slept for more than 9 hours.
  
Signs of sleep deprivation
Most children are in need of more sleep when they are awakened for school. Studies show sleep-deprived children experience more learning and behavioral problems and may become easily frustrated, exhibit symptoms of attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity or emotional problems. 
      
   When allowed to sleep late over the summer, children will accomplish all of the sleep that they need, Herman says. But when school starts, everything changes because the child now has a requirement to be awake at a certain time.
  
   "Most school schedules are not in sync with a child's body clock," Herman said. "In our Sleep Disorders Clinic, we often see this problem beginning in 5- or 6-year-olds and gradually becoming more severe in teenagers."
  
   Children may attempt to recuperate by sleeping late during weekends, leading to bouts of insomnia on Sunday nights and creating a cycle of sleep-deprivation during the school week when the rest is needed most.
  
Adjusting the sleep clock for school
For school-age children who find the morning wake-up difficult, Herman recommends parents keep a child's sleep schedule the same on weekdays and weekends to enable the child to begin sleep earlier on Sunday night, thereby beginning the school week well-rested. He says Sunday night bedtime is the critical point in the timing of the entire week's sleep.
  
   "With the anxiety induced by the upcoming school week, some children who sleep late Saturday and Sunday morning often wind up unable to fall asleep Sunday night," Herman said. "For these children, the weekend schedule should be planned around achieving an early Sunday bedtime."
  
Resources
Children's Medical Center

Last reviewed: August 2007