Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/722388
www.FredParent.NET • 15 TEENAGE YEARS 14-18 teenagers are Splaingard's most sleep- deprived patients, a fact that doesn't surprise him. During high school, after- school jobs, extracurricular activities, sports, socializing and homework simply don't leave enough time for sleep. Most teens need more sleep than parents think—over nine hours a night—and chronic sleep deprivation hurts learning at a time when kids need lots of mental energy for tough subjects from chemistry to calculus. But busy schedules deserve only part of the blame for sleep deficits: cell phones and laptops keep teens up late, often into the wee hours. When teens finally power off their computers and go to bed, round- the-clock access to cell phones disrupts sleep. A new study reports that sleeping near cell phones puts teens at risk for so-called "sleep texting:" waking up and firing off text messages during the night without any recollection of having sent the texts the next morning. All this sleep disruption adds up to bleary mornings and bleak report cards. Protect teens' precious sleep hours with a media cur- few—shut down all electronics an hour before bed and establish a "charging station" outside the bedroom where teens leave their electronics overnight. this important step keeps bedrooms free of sleep- disrupting cell phones and computers, says Harris. "the bedroom should be a place for sleep," she says. "It's not a spot for homework, watching tV or surfing the Internet." When it comes to learning, tutors, cutting-edge gadgets and hours of homework can't compen- sate for hours of lost sleep. When parents priori- tize kids' sleep needs, learning comes more natu- rally, says Splaingard. "We think we're helping make kids more successful with more activities and more homework. But what they really need is more sleep." EARLY SCHOOL YEARS 3-8 For sleep-deprived kids, school trouble starts early: 10 percent of kids in early education suffer from sleep disturbances that disrupt learning, according to a German study. the American Professional Sleep Society reports that sleep deprivation signif- icantly worsens inattentiveness and hyperactivity in young chil- dren, leading to ADHD-like symptoms (known as "faux" ADHD). Even modest sleep deprivation is enough to hinder learning. According to a study published in the journal SLEEP, a mere hour of lost slumber is enough to bring on inattentiveness and hyperactivity in young children. A 2011 study of 6- and 7-year- olds shows that language skills, grammar, spelling and reading comprehension suffer when kids get less than nine hours of sleep per night. Sleep-deprived children may not appear sleepy, says Shelby F. Harris, Psy.D., director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Montefiore Medical Center in new york. In fact, they may act hyper and goofy. But preschoolers and school- age children don't outgrow the need for a consistent bed- time and bedtime routine. Establish an age-appropriate bedtime that allows your child to rest for 10 to 11 hours each night. Sleep by the Age Here is age-specific information on how sleep impacts learning— and how to help kids get a better night's rest. HOW TO HELP HOW TO HELP TWEEN YEARS 9-13 During the late elementary and middle-school years, academics become more challenging and sports more competitive. But when increasingly busy schedules start cutting into sleep, kids retain less of what they learn, says Mark Splaingard, M.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at nationwide Children's Hospital. "Long hours spent on sports practice or math problems are counterproductive, if these activi- ties keep kids up late at night," he notes. Kids will learn more and perform better—whether on the field or in the classroom—with sufficient shut-eye. Parents need to under- stand sleep's importance and guard kids' sleep hours zealously, says Splaingard. that means maintaining firm school-year bedtimes and choosing after-school and evening activities that end at least an hour before kids need to wind down for bed. HOW TO HELP 9+ hrs 10-11 hrs 9-10 hrs