Sleep Health 101: Getting Kids Ready for Back-to-School (Infographic)

South Florida’s public schools reopen on Aug. 21, but sleep health experts say that parents need to start re-orienting their kids back into an early-to-bed schedule about two weeks before classes start up.

Of course, bedtimes tend to be a lot more relaxed during the lazy days of summer, and getting up early can be a definite shock to a child’s system.

Start at about two weeks before school starts, set an incrementally earlier bedtime, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). And make sure to set a an incrementally earlier wake-up time as well.

“Make sure that when school starts, they’ll wake up with the amount of sleep they need for their age-group,” the Foundation states.

For the most part, adults — anyone over the age of 18 — require about 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to avoid health issues, according to the NSF. Teenagers need a little more sleep – 8 to 10 hours. And pre-teen, school-age children (ages 6-13) need even more sleep — 9 to 11 hours.

See the infographic below for more tips on getting your kids back to a healthy sleep pattern when schools re-open:

Infographic by Irina de Souza