{"id":40533,"date":"2016-08-15T15:10:14","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T19:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=40533"},"modified":"2016-08-15T15:13:05","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T19:13:05","slug":"now-is-the-time-to-get-school-kids-back-into-sleep-routine-brock-u-sleep-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/08\/now-is-the-time-to-get-school-kids-back-into-sleep-routine-brock-u-sleep-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Now is the time to get school kids back into sleep routine: Brock U sleep expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the dog days of summer wind down, and back-to-school looms larger, there\u2019s an important activity parents need to start doing right now: getting the kids back into a healthy sleep routine.
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\u201cDuring the summer, school-age children have been staying up later: there\u2019s more light, there are fewer rules generally, and there\u2019s more family activities, so the children\u2019s sleep schedules have gotten off track,\u201d says Brock University sleep expert Kimberly Cote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to talk to people about getting children\u2019s sleep back on track to be ready to go to school and be optimally fit for the new school year,\u201d says Cote, Professor of Psychology at Brock and president of the Canadian Sleep Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Adjusting children\u2019s sleep schedules, and the huge importance of sleep for children\u2019s growth and development, are among themes Cote and her colleagues will be highlighting during the first \u201cGreat Canadian Sleepwalk: The Road to Good Nights,\u201d<\/a> a five-kilometre walk in four Canadian cities Saturday, Aug. 20 to raise awareness of the importance of healthy sleep. One of the walk\u2019s four locations is at Brock University.<\/p>\n

A good night\u2019s sleep is vital for brain and body functioning, says Cote. Like adults, too little sleep for children leads to poor mood, behavioural problems and impaired performance in the classroom.<\/p>\n

And, too little sleep can also lead to hormonal changes associated with increased risks of obesity, hypertension and diabetes, she says.<\/p>\n

Children need more sleep than adults as they grow and develop. Guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine indicate that children ages three to five years need 10 to 13 hours (including naps); from ages six to 12 years, nine to 12 hours; and adolescents from 13 to 18 years, eight to 10 hours.<\/p>\n

\"Sleep<\/p>\n

Yet, the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth<\/a>\u00a0says that 31 per cent of school-aged children and 26 per cent of adolescents in Canada are sleep deprived; 33 per cent of Canadian children ages five to 13 and 45 per cent of youth aged 14 to 17 have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least some of the time.<\/p>\n

ParticipACTION is a country-wide initiative to get Canadian youth more physically active. Cote and the Canadian Sleep Society have teamed up with the national, non-profit organization to publicize the connection between children\u2019s inactivity and unhealthy sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this interaction between sleep and activity,\u201d says Cote who is director of the Sleep Research Laboratory at Brock. \u201cIt\u2019s bidirectional, a two-way street: children are too tired to be active, but if they\u2019re not active, they\u2019re not tiring themselves out enough to have a good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ParticipACTION report says that every hour kids spend in activities that involve a lot of sitting, such as gaming or watching T.V., delays their bedtime by three minutes, and, the average five to 17 year old in Canada spends 8.5 hours being sedentary each day.<\/p>\n

Key to getting a good night\u2019s sleep is to know how much you need and make the time to get that ideal amount, says Cote. \u201cYour sleep time is kind of like a fingerprint; it\u2019s yours. It\u2019s a hardwired trait thing that won\u2019t change.\u201d<\/p>\n

She explains that, compared to adults, children are better able to regulate sleep. \u201cAs you age, sleep becomes more fragmented; it\u2019s more difficult to maintain sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the greatest sleep problem for children is not allowing enough time in bed to achieve the recommended sleep time.<\/p>\n

Cote says there are a number of behaviours and strategies that people of all ages can follow to aid healthy sleep. One of these includes sticking to a regular bedtime and rise time schedule seven nights a week.<\/p>\n

Hence the need for children to return to their normal, school-time schedule. But this should be done gradually, advises Cote.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t start suddenly going to bed three hours earlier; you\u2019ve got to adjust a little bit at a time,\u201d says Cote. She recommends that, by around mid- to late-August, parents start putting their kids to bed 15 minutes earlier for a few days, then an additional 15 minutes for a few more days so that \u201ctheir bedtime becomes adjusted to the earlier clock time; it\u2019s a lot less painful for everyone if you do that over a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t start on Labour Day,\u201d she says. \u201cSleep is a behaviour that can\u2019t be adjusted very quickly; it needs some time to adjust. So, now is the time to think, \u2018if my child has to be up at this time to catch the bus to school, when should bedtime be?’\u201d<\/p>\n

At Brock University’s Great Canadian Sleepwalk, there will be two routes: one through the Bruce Trail; and the other a flatter, more accessible course. The walk costs $10 to enter; children 12 years and under can walk for free. Participants are encouraged to pre-register and come in their pyjamas or dress as their favourite \u2018dream character.\u2019 The Dairy Farmers of Canada will be distributing free milk. Click here<\/a> to register.<\/p>\n