{"id":2815,"date":"2018-08-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=2815"},"modified":"2025-06-09T15:21:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T15:21:36","slug":"back-to-school-sleep-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

The morning rush before school can be chaotic on the best days. And after a summer of staying up late and sleeping in, getting your children to bed earlier \u2014 and up on time for school \u2014 may feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n

Doctors and other health care providers recommend getting your children back on track now, rather than waiting until the last minute, for a gradual transition back to regular sleep schedules.<\/p>\n

A good night\u2019s sleep plays an important role in many areas of life, from learning and comprehension to behavior and moods, according to Kimberly Mebust, MD<\/a>, a MultiCare Sleep Medicine<\/a> physician.<\/p>\n

School-aged children should aim for 10\u201311 hours per night; teens should get eight to nine; and adults seven to eight, Dr. Mebust says.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of parents are shocked to find out how much sleep a child needs,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Without good sleep, children and teens may have difficulty concentrating in school and feel irritable and cranky. Eventually, poor sleep can lead to poor performance on tests, as well as behavior problems and obesity.<\/p>\n

It can be a difficult transition from irregular summer sleep schedules to regimented school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back to a regular sleep schedule in time for that all-important first day of school.<\/p>\n

1. Make it gradual<\/h2>\n

Unless your child\u2019s bedtime routine hasn\u2019t changed much over the summer, don\u2019t wait until the night before school starts to move your child\u2019s bedtime. It will only frustrate you both, and make that first day of school even tougher.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer children have to adjust, the better,\u201d Dr. Mebust says.<\/p>\n

Try moving your child\u2019s bedtime 15 minutes earlier each night over the course of a couple of weeks \u2014 or at least a week \u2014 to make for a more realistic and gradual change.<\/p>\n

2. Limit screen time<\/h2>\n

Studies have linked\u00a0bedtime screen use with increased time to fall asleep, decreased REM sleep, suppressed levels of melatonin and other adverse effects \u2014 making it even more important to keep kids\u2019 phones out of their rooms.<\/p>\n

Screens include phones, tablets, light-emitting e-books and even television. They all emit \u201cblue light,\u201d which suppresses the production of melatonin, the primary hormone that triggers sleepiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue light is a more stimulatory light pattern for our brains,\u201d Dr. Mebust says.<\/p>\n

She recommends avoiding screens entirely at least an hour before bedtime. If your child wants to read before bed, printed books are a better option.<\/p>\n

3. Stick to a schedule, even on the weekends<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to keep a routine going, even on the weekends when it\u2019s tempting to stay up a little later and sleep in.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mebust recommends weekend sleep\/wake times be no more than an hour later than usual. So if your children normally go to bed at 9pm on weekdays, make sure they\u2019re in bed by 10pm on the weekends, at the latest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenging task to stick to a bedtime routine,\u00a0so just try to stick to it as much as possible. If you miss a day here and there, it\u2019s not the end of the world.<\/p>\n

Is your child getting enough sleep but still tired?<\/h2>\n

If you know your child is getting an adequate amount of sleep but still acts cranky, tired, has trouble focusing or needs to take naps, it may be a sign of a sleep disorder.<\/p>\n

Sleep disorders are treatable and can be diagnosed by taking part in a sleep evaluation.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article was originally published in August 2015 and updated in August 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer often means erratic bedtimes and sleeping in, but now\u2019s the time to get your children back on track for the first day of school.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":327,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,107],"tags":[163],"class_list":["post-2815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kids-health","category-stroke-neuro","tag-back-to-school"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/04\/iStock-1421133323-1401x934-b7498f6.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1401\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"934\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roxanne Cooke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Roxanne Cooke\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8e5d64ea4ea74a37b166d1f43a6fab0d\"},\"headline\":\"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":595,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Back-to-School\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Kids' Health\",\"Stroke & Neurosciences\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/\",\"name\":\"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8e5d64ea4ea74a37b166d1f43a6fab0d\",\"name\":\"Roxanne Cooke\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/roxannecooke\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals","description":"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1401,"height":934,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/04\/iStock-1421133323-1401x934-b7498f6.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Roxanne Cooke","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/"},"author":{"name":"Roxanne Cooke","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/8e5d64ea4ea74a37b166d1f43a6fab0d"},"headline":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens","datePublished":"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/"},"wordCount":595,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"keywords":["Back-to-School"],"articleSection":["Kids' Health","Stroke & Neurosciences"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/","name":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-09T15:21:36+00:00","description":"It can be a hard transition from summer sleep schedules to school-year bedtimes. Here are some tips for getting your children back on track.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/back-to-school-sleep-tips\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 back-to-school sleep tips for children, teens"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/8e5d64ea4ea74a37b166d1f43a6fab0d","name":"Roxanne Cooke","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/roxannecooke\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2815"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34447,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815\/revisions\/34447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}