Eyes opened, eyes closed, wohoo, it’s back-to-school season.
The late summer nights are fun, but the first school bell is about to ring, and whether you and your kids are ready or not, “5 more minutes” every morning is about to begin.
You see, quality sleep is a very crucial tool for learning because well-rested children have better focus, moods, and memory. But unfortunately, most kids fall short of the recommended sleep.
School-age children (6–12 years) need about 9–12 hours per night, and teens (13–18) need 8–10, yet 6 out of 10 middle-schoolers and 7 out of 10 high-schoolers don’t hit those marks.
So this back-to-school season, we want to change the odds by sharing how you can help your kids transition smoothly. So let’s just get into it!
How Much Sleep Do Kids Actually Need?
To prepare for the back-to-school transition, you first need to understand the standard amount of sleep that children need. Once you have that in mind, it becomes so much easier to plan, prepare, and adjust.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, here are the recommended sleep hours for kids:
- Preschoolers (3–5 yrs): 10–13 hours (including naps)
- School-age (6–12 yrs): 9–12 hours
- Teens (13–18 yrs): 8–10 hours
Now that we have the targets, your goal is to help your kids adhere to them.
Look for areas or activities you can adjust to meet the sleep hours, such as TV time, gaming sessions, or other activities.
5 Simple Steps to Help Children Transition Smoothly
Now let’s look at the easy steps you can start incorporating in this season, gradually and steadily, of course:
1. Reset Your Clock:
The first step is shifting your schedule. Start by moving wake-up and bedtime in small increments. Here are some examples:
- In the weeks before school, set the alarm 15 minutes earlier every 2–3 days. Have your child go to bed 15 minutes earlier on the same schedule.
- Continue this until you hit the target school-night wake time. (If school starts at 7:30 am, slowly aim for a 7:00 am rise or earlier.)
Adjusting sleep by a couple of hours can take 1–2 weeks, so don’t wait until the night before class.
Think of it like ladder rungs: each week an inch earlier, rather than one giant leap (which is impossible). If they miss a window, just hold steady or pause.
Remember that what you’re chasing is consistency, which is better than “crash schedules.”
2. Have Bedtime Wind-Down Periods:
As bedtime gets earlier, make sure the hour before lights-out is calm and predictable. And not just predictable but fun. Make it a game. Something the kids enjoy. Whether that includes a warm bath as you sing, then brushing teeth, then story time.
If it’s fun, it’s easier to stick to.
Also, try disconnecting from screens 30-60 minutes before lights out. Remember, the goal is to keep calm, so no TV, action movies, or last-minute snack raids.
You can try these tech-trimming tips just to make the transition easier:
- Power off devices early: No smartphones, TVs, or tablets 30–60 min before bed. (If kids need white noise or music, play it from a timer or speaker, not a phone.)
- Dim indoor lights: Lower overhead lights or lamps in the evening. Consider “night mode” on electronics (or blue-light filters) if they must use devices.
- Charge devices outside the bedroom: Make a family charging station. Also, use a traditional alarm clock instead of a phone alarm to prevent late-night scrolling.
- Have alternative wind-down activities: practice reading, drawing, taking a warm bath, or even quiet storytelling.
And most importantly, try to do things in the same order every night because kids thrive on a routine.
3. Bedroom 101: Cool, Dark, Quiet
This is the simplest of them all:
- Cool: Keep the bedroom around 60–67°F. Studies note cooler temps are optimal for sleep.
- Dark: Use blackout curtains to block late-afternoon sunlight (or early dawn). Total darkness boosts melatonin.
- Quiet or White Noise: Turn off loud noises. If the neighborhood is noisy, a white-noise machine or fan can create a steady hum that soothes.
- Bed-Only Zone: Encourage doing homework or watching TV in another room. Make the bed a sleep-only spot, mentally linking it to rest.
Essentially, aim to create a “sleep cave” that immediately screams it’s bedtime!
4. Wake Up Right:
The way you wake up sets the tone for the day. It’s actually what determines whether you’ll be late for the drop-off or pick-up sessions with the kids. So make a promise to yourself to get up immediately that alarm goes off:
- Have Bright Light: Immediately open curtains or turn on a bright lamp. Natural sunlight or a dawn simulator alarm clock jumpstarts their body clock. Exposure to morning light tells the brain, “New day, be awake!”
- No Snooze: Instead of letting kids snooze (which fragments rest), set a single alarm for the actual wake time. You can even establish a reward: whoever jumps out of bed gets to pick breakfast (or a no-snooze trophy).
- Morning Movement: A quick stretch or jumping jacks can shake off sleepiness. Encourage them to drink a glass of water or eat a healthy, protein-rich breakfast to fuel the day.
The best part is these tips count for both you and your kids.
Also, try to keep the wake-up time consistent, even on weekends. Yes, even though it’s tempting to let teens sleep in, too much variation can reset the body clock wrong and make Monday morning worse.
Pro Tip: Aim to keep weekend wake times within an hour of the school-day target.
Pro Tips For Parents This Back-To-School Season
As a parent, you need to be solid so that you can prepare kids for school. If you burn out or even get late by mere minutes, you immediately affect the entire schedule. So here are some additional tips for you:
- Limit Caffeine and Sugary Drinks: Skip sodas, tea, or “energy” drinks after midday, for you and even the kids.
- Watch Late-Day Naps: If your child naps, or even when you do, keep it short (20–30 min) and before late afternoon. Long or late naps can sabotage nighttime sleep. In teens, especially, lengthy naps have been linked to poorer night sleep.
- Have calm evenings all around. Turn off bright household lights in the last few hours, and replace boisterous games with quieter activities.
- Communicate and Involve Kids. For older children and teens, explain the “”why”—better grades, mood, sports performance, etc. Getting them on board turns this into a team effort.
Your Best School Days Begin Here
It’s easy to think that good grades start with tutoring and early alarms, but truly, they start at night.
A clean break from summer slumber, paired with consistency, calm routines, and a sleep-friendly setup, can make all the difference. Well-rested kids are happier kids: more engaged in class, less cranky at home, and more resilient all around.
So, before the hectic school days begin, give bedtime the priority it deserves. Your kids’ success (and your sanity) will thank you for it.
Sweet dreams and great school mornings ahead!
P.S. Don’t miss Polysleep’s Back-to-School Promo, running from August 13th to September 17th. It may just be the perfect time to upgrade your child’s sleep essentials.
