How Much Sleep Does My Kid Need?
Sleep can have a profound effect on children's growth and development. Here’s the lowdown (or "lay down") on how much sleep your child needs between naps and a full night’s rest.
Sleep deprivation can lead to a plethora of problems: Short term, it can cause mood disorders, stress, anxiety, and even poor performance in school. And prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to chronic diseases. Hosts Dr. Alok Patel and Bethany Van Delft explain why sleep is so important, how much sleep kids really need, and how you can help your child (regardless of age) get better sleep.
The recommended amount of sleep for teens is between 8 to 10 hours. But 80 to 90% of teens in America aren't receiving enough sleep every night and unfortunately, “catching up” on sleep over the weekend doesn’t make up for lost sleep during the week. Young children need a little more sleep than teens: Children age 0 to 3 months should be getting 14 to 17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, although at that age, children will wake every few hours to eat.
Although children’s nap time can be great for parents like Bethany (who wishes her kids could continue napping through grade school), napping generally stops around kindergarten or first grade. Talk to a doctor if you think your child is getting too much or too little sleep for their age. And keep in mind, “if your child is getting lots of naps and having fragmented sleep at night, you can’t add all these naps together and say they’ve met their sleep needs,” says Alok.
A consistent bedtime and bedtime routine is essential to improving the quality of sleep. It’s up to all of us—from schoolteachers to parents to clinicians—to encourage teens to maintain a steady sleep schedule.
Another sleep tip from Alok: No screens before bed. TV, computer, and phone screens emit blue wavelengths of light that can block melatonin (the hormone responsible for helping us sleep) from being secreted into the brain. “In a perfect world, 1 to 2 hours before bedtime” is when screens should be shut off, Alok suggests.
Reducing stimulus, creating an established bedtime routine, and making sure your child has an optimal environment to sleep in can help them get more sleep.
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