According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, early elementary school children need between ten and eleven hours of sleep each night, while elementary kids as old as twelve still need between nine and ten hours each night.

This can seem like an impossible number when your child has extracurricular activities in addition to hours of homework every evening, but making sure your children get enough sleep is as important as ensuring they eat healthy foods.

Sleep deprivation in childhood has consequences far beyond feeling grumpy in the morning. Children who do not get enough sleep produce less interleukin-1 which can hamper their immunity, leading to more illnesses.

Lack of sleep can also affect a child’s height and growth as the body produces its peak levels of growth hormone during periods of sleep.

Sleep deprivation can also trigger anxiety, depression, weight gain, diabetes, and emotional problems.

What should you do if your child isn’t getting enough sleep?

Although your kids won’t like the idea, consider setting an earlier bedtime. This is the most practical and easy to implement solution. Cut down on TV viewing time to make sure there’s enough time each evening for homework, and get your kids tucked in an hour earlier.

It’s also essential to keep a regular schedule for bedtime and wake time so their bodies learn when they need to sleep, and when it’s time to wake.

Don’t give your kids heavy meals or caffeinated foods and drinks before bedtime as this can keep them from falling asleep.

Make sure that your child’s room is dark and quiet once they go to bed. Invest in some thick window coverings to keep out light, and spend the time between their bedtime and yours doing quiet activities.

If a sleep disorder like night terrors, sleep walking or bed wetting is causing your child to get less sleep, talk to your doctor. There’s likely nothing to worry about, as these issues resolve themselves in a year or two, but in the meantime, there are often some things you can do to alleviate the problem.

If one of these disorders is severely affecting your child’s sleep, you might consider homeschooling or virtual schooling until your child outgrows the problem in order to allow them to get the sleep they need.

As a parent, you can be part of the problem as well as key to the solution. There are times that you’re going to have to acknowledge that it’s more important to avoid sleep deprivation over the course of a year in your child’s life than it is to push them to get an ‘A’ rather than a ‘B’ in fourth grade science, or adding one more extra curricular activity to their schedule.

Sleep is as important to a child’s health and well-being as nutrition and exercise. As parents in an age of overstimulation, we need to ensure our children are not suffering the effects of sleep deprivation.

Amusing Ourselves to Death (pt 1)

Amusing Ourselves to Death (pt 2)

Informing Ourselves To Death