“Getting enough sleep is important for students’ health, safety, and academic
performance.” --Anne Wheaton, Ph.D.,
lead author and epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Population Health
August is when America’s kids go back to school. That is why it's a great month to teach parents skills that can improve their children’s health,
safety, and academic performance. The
quote (above) is from a recent CDC press release entitled, “Most US middle and
high schools start the school day too early”.
If you have a child in middle or high school, you already know this.
When my son, Edward, was in high school, his classes
started at 7:05 AM. It always felt like
the school board was torturing parents and kids. We (I) would have to be up at 5:30 AM so that
Edward could be at the bus stop by 6:05 AM.
The bus came this early so that kids on the free and reduced meal
program could get to school in time to have breakfast before
classes. I saw first-hand how
destructive such an early start time is for families and for kids.
The fact is that kids need lots of sleep. Most don’t get enough. High school kids need 8.5-9.5 hours a night. You do the math. For my son to get up at 5:30
when he was in high school, he needed to be in bed at 8:30 PM to get 9 hours a
night. Since he was in the marching
band, band practice was 2 nights a week until 9:00. Makes no sense to start classes at 7:05. He never got 9 hours of sleep a night and
waking him up after a night of not enough sleep became one of my most dreaded
tasks as a parent. If you have kids in any after school activities, I know you can relate.
In the recent CDC press release, it states that “insufficient sleep
is common among high school students and is associated with several health
risks such as being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using
drugs as well as poor academic performance.
The proportion of high school students who fail to get sufficient sleep
(2 out of 3) has remained steady since 2007, according to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Report.”
The evidence is clear that not
getting enough sleep is a risk factor for poor academic performance in addition
to being overweight. Giving kids some
boundaries about bedtimes that ensure they are getting enough sleep most nights
is a big Back to School Tip for parents.
If adults are overweight or obese, one question to ask is, “Are
YOU getting enough sleep?” Once you
start getting an adequate amount of sleep, many people find it is easier to
lose weight. How about that for a sleep
fun fact?
Let’s be good role models and
make sure that WE are getting enough sleep.
Then families can have a conversation about this topic. Make it cool to talk about sleep at your
family dinners. Your children will
thank you. Maybe not this school year,
maybe in 5 years. Remember, as parents we are investing our time and efforts
into the present and future lives and health of our children. Can life get any better than this?
To read NIH's article about the relationship between brain health and sleep, click here. Lots of valuable information. Health is wealth. Sleep is brain power.
In gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
