Sleepy?

I'm on a kick about sleep.

This is a nation that doesn't know how to turn off the spigot of media... computer games, television, DVDs, Facebook, MySpace, Ipods, Iphones....  there's so much to see, listen, and do that we forget to take care of our brain.

Children are so vulnerable.  Yesterday in a 2nd grade classroom I did an informal survey on what time kids went to sleep the night before.  The answers ranged from 730 to midnight.  20% complained that loud music in or near their home kept them from falling asleep.

I hadn't thought about it for a long time... but that made me remember my dad playing the tv so loud I couldn't sleep.  He had hearing loss... and we had thin walls.  I remember begging him to turn it off so I could sleep.  

Studies have proven that for every  hour of sleep they lose, their grades slip at least a letter grade.  Their behavior gets worse.  Believe it or not, sleep-deprived kids actually get more hyper.  And it makes ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder)even worse.  

Elementary age children need at least 10 hours of sleep a night.  For most kids that means betime should be no later than 830.   Since children in chronic sleep shortages can't always tell that how they feel is related to sleep deprivation, rely on these easy ways to tell if your child (or you!) are sleep deprived:

*as soon as he or she is riding in a car for more that 10-15 minutes, they fall asleep.

*they fall asleep within 5 minutes of lying down

*they need an alarm clock or a person to physically wake them up in the morning.

That's right - when we're getting enough sleep, we actually wake up, on time, without help!

Want to read more?  Check out "Mrs. Stine's Favorite Links" on the right sidebar for great articles on children & sleep.