The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is one of the main ingredients to a successful day at school. I am seeing some students in my health office who are experiencing fatigue. There are many reasons contributing to fatigue and some of these are a result of over scheduling, and not enough sleep. Children are heading to bed much too late. I see dark circles under eyes and often hear complaints of stomachaches, headaches and not feeling well.

Recommendations suggest children in kindergarten through third grade need 11-12 hours of sleep at night, fourth through sixth grade need 10 hours of sleep and seventh & eighth graders need 9 hours of sleep each night. Here is an excerpt from Normal Periods of Sleep, Saint Francis Health Systems: 

Ages 6-12: Between the ages of 6 and 12, sleep problems of early childhood often diminish and most children fall asleep easily and sleep soundly. Typically, the main problem during these years is the child's bedtime. Children might try to push back their bedtime by reading, doing homework, or watching TV. Although there is no set rule for how many hours of sleep a child needs, it is important to take notice of how your child reacts to different amounts of sleep. 
Ages 12 to 20: During the teenage years, it is often difficult to know what is or is not normal sleep behavior. Teenagers require more sleep than preteens because of their rapid body growth and development. Ideally, a teen should average about 9 hours of sleep a night, but most teens will only average 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. This can often result in sleepiness during the day or sleeping late in weekends to catch up on sleep missed throughout the week. It is important to encourage an earlier bedtime and discourage after school naps.


With a little thought and reorganization I know our children can get the rest they need. Perhaps we all need to look at our own sleep habits. We can escape the "rat race" by changing old habits. Maybe there will be better family harmony if everyone got a little more sleep.