ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — School starts for most students in the Tampa Bay area in less than two weeks.
So now is the time to get back into a good sleep routine.
Tampa Bay 28 anchor Lauren St. Germain covers health news and went to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital to talk with Dr. Luis Ortiz.
Dr. Ortiz is a sleep medicine physician.
He said kids don’t need a strict sleep schedule just yet, but they do need to start reining it in. So, make a consistent bedtime and wake-up time now and then move it up a bit next week so it’s closer to the school schedule.
WATCH: Local doctor suggests now is the time to start back-to-school sleep routines for kids
Dr. Ortiz explained to St. Germain how much sleep kids and teens actually need.
“With elementary school, we typically aim for about 10-11 hours, and that sounds like a lot, but kids have developing brains at this age, and they need that much sleep to fine-tune the growth of their brains and connections. Middle school is definitely in the 10 range, maybe 9-10 range. Teenagers, they typically need on average 9 hours of sleep, and that doesn’t change until you are in your early to mid-20s.” said Dr. Ortiz.
He recommends keeping sleep schedules similar on the weekend or varying it by one or two hours maximum, with the exception of special occasions.
St. Germain and Dr. Ortiz also talked about why it’s important to put electronics away before bedtime.
“Light sources from electronics typically have a lot of blue light and that stimulates in our brain in a way to prevent it from producing its own natural melatonin. We use melatonin to sync our brains and our bodies with the time of day,” said Dr. Ortiz.
He continued, “Once it gets dark outside, our brain naturally produces melatonin. If we are always stuck looking at an electronic device like a tablet or phone or TV, that is going to confuse our brain and make it think that it’s a lot earlier in the day than it really is, and it makes it harder to go to sleep.”
Dr. Ortiz said if your child is having trouble maintaining a good sleep schedule, it could be a sign of other issues, like anxiety or depression, so reach out to your pediatrician.
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