It’s back to school time and as usual, parents will be helping their kids prepare by shopping for new clothes and school supplies. But there are other preparations that are much more important. By improving our children’s sleep hygiene and by teaching them to relax themselves to sleep, we increase their chances of being happy, healthy, and successful students.

Sleep affects our children’s mood, health, and ability to learn. When Tel Aviv University administered tests to fourth and sixth graders, they found that by adding just one hour of sleep, children’s attention span and memory improved dramatically, often by several grade levels. A good night’s sleep benefits logical reasoning skills and helps children to organize their brains, process information, and remain alert in class the next day. While a child sleeps, his or her brain is processing new information. When a child is taught something new, but then doesn’t sleep long enough or deeply enough for the information to move from temporary to long-term memory, it can be lost forever.

Children who are sleep deprived are frequently inattentive and spacey, have trouble concentrating, and run the risk of being mislabeled as ADHD. A Brown University study suggests "sleep deprivation in normal children can lead to symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." Researchers found that several days of sleep deprivation resulted in the development of ADHD symptoms, and that children’s hyperactivity levels escalated with each additional night of poor sleep. Other studies report that even when children have been diagnosed correctly, their ADHD symptoms are likely to improve when they get more sleep.

Children’s sleep problems are often compounded when school starts because they have gotten used to staying up late and sleeping in during the long summer break. If this problem isn't corrected before school starts, children are likely to struggle as they adjust to an earlier schedule. The following tips will help reset children’s internal clock before school begins—so they can get off to a good start.

Before school starts:

♦ Move bedtime up by 15 –30 minutes one week before school starts.
♦ Consistently wake kids up earlier during the week before school starts.
♦ Motivate children to get out of bed by creating fun reasons for them
to get going. For example, plan an early morning treasure hunt, a picnic
breakfast at the park or a back to school breakfast with friends.
♦ Be sure your child spends time outside in the morning; early morning
sunshine helps to reset the internal clock.

During the school year:

♦ Have a set bedtime. Children should consistently go to bed at the same time
every night. Even on the weekends, it should not vary by more than one hour
a night or a total of two hours for the entire weekend. If it does, you're setting
your child up for a kind of jet lag when Monday morning rolls around.
♦ Warn children five to ten minutes before they need to get ready for bed so they
can wrap up what they're doing.
♦ Have quiet activities before bed. (Limit television, video games and computer
time.)
♦ Avoid caffeinated drinks in the late afternoon and evening.
♦ Have a consistent bedtime routine. Create a consistent bedtime ritual—in a
predictable calming environment that serves as a bridge between the
excitement of daytime and the restful quiet of nighttime.
♦ Practice relaxation techniques. During the bedtime routine, take a few minutes
to practice self-soothing relaxation techniques such as progressive relaxation,
attending to the breath, and visualization.