Many children don’t get enough sleep, according to John Herman, Ph.D., clinical director of the Sleep Disorders Clinic at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Homework, household chores, social activities, medical conditions and over-stimulating sleeping environments (such as bright lights or TVs, radios and computers left on in a child’s room) are among the reasons children don’t get the proper amount of sleep. But, poor schedule planning may play the biggest role, he says.

“Parents often view getting proper nutrition of vital importance to their child, and will go to any end to make sure the child gets enough to eat,” Herman says. “Few parents maintain the same attitude when it comes to sleep.”

Typically, elementary-age children require 10 or 11 hours of sleep and middle school-age and high school-age children require at least nine hours of sleep. Herman says sleep-deprived children often experience excessive day-time sleepiness and mimic symptoms similar to attention-deficit disorder and/or hyperactivity. Studies show tired children experience more learning and behavioral problems.

When allowed to sleep late over the summer, children will accomplish all of the sleep that they need, he explains. When school starts, everything changes because the child now has a requirement to be awake at a certain time.

“In general, school schedules are not in sync with the clock in a child’s body,” Herman says, adding that “most children frequently are still in need of more sleep when it is time for them to awaken for school. This problem is seen beginning in 5- or 6-year-olds and becomes most severe in some teens.”

For school-age children who find the morning wake-up call difficult, Herman recommends that parents advance the child’s hour of sleep in an indirect manner. To accomplish earlier sleep onset, expose your child to early morning bright light by having him play outside at dawn on weekends. This will advance the body’s clock, resulting in more alertness in the morning and sleepiness beginning earlier. Once the school year has begun, Herman suggests keeping a child’s sleep schedule the same on weekdays and weekends to enable the child to begin sleep earlier on Sunday night, beginning the school week well rested.