The summer days are numbered, and for a lot of families that means a change in your bedtime routine.
No more late nights and lazy mornings as kids prepare for the first day of school.
Experts say we should start setting those alarm clocks now. Mom Lauren Bodie says it can be a challenge to get back into the school night routine.
“When we don’t have somewhere to be the next morning, they kind of have free reign,” she said. “There have been times I’ve gone in there at midnight and they’re both wide awake."
Dr. Ted Chaplain is a family physician with Providence Medical Group. He recommends a few simple steps to establish a bedtime routine.
“These things don’t happen overnight," said Dr. Chaplain. “You want to train the brain that as soon as you get in that bed you should lay your head on that pillow, and it’s really time to sleep.”
That means no TV’s, no iPads, no electronic screens in bed.
“It’s trying to keep the screens, and the other things that really stimulate them and keep them up, out of their rooms,” said Dr. Chaplain.
He suggests most kids get at least 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep every night in order to function well in the classroom.
