How to Shift Sleep Schedules for Back-to-School Season
Today’s the day!! The first day of school for my kids after what felt like a long, but also way-too-short, and wild summer.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been anxiously awaiting the start of a new school year for your kids, too. There’s just something about the structure, consistency, and general sense of comfort knowing our kids are not only cared for, but learning how to be a smart, successful human in this world. Which, let’s face it, is a SUPERHUMAN task (seriously, my infinite gratitude goes out to all you teachers!).
But with the start of school comes a somewhat dreadful shift from unstructured, lazy mornings to early wake-ups and chaotic kitchens. It’s the beginning of a season packed with alarm clocks, and waking up before the sun, and eating on the go, and scrambling to fill backpacks, and remembering socks, and endless drop-off car lines, and rushed kisses goodbye.
And amidst all this, we’re almost always dealing with some element of moody, stubborn behavior from our overtired kids. Kids who went to bed too late, woke up too early, and are likely overscheduled with all the after-school activities. But that’s just the nature of heading back to school, right?!
Well, I’m here to tell you that it really doesn’t have to be this hard! In fact, it’s easier than you probably think to help your kids get their sleep back on track so they can actually thrive, not just survive, getting back into the school routine.
And this is where I like to introduce the Stair Step Approach. Similar to daylight savings time, slowly and systematically adjusting your child’s bedtime and morning wake-up can significantly reduce the amount of stress they (and you!) will feel going back to school.
So, here’s how to do just that:
Start by figuring out exactly how much sleep your child needs based on their age. The chart below will give you an idea of the recommended amount of total sleep per day your child needs:
Credit: National Institute of Health
2. Next, shift your child’s bedtime ten minutes earlier every night for at least seven days straight or until you’ve reached an appropriate hour that will ensure the right amount of sleep. That’s right – this includes weekends, folks! I know, I know – it might eat into your weekend plans a bit, but trust me when I say you’ll be thanking your lucky stars when you start getting your evenings back to binge Netflix or read a good book in bed peacefully after your kid goes down for night.
Example: If your child’s current bedtime is 9pm, start shifting her bedtime back to 8:50pm on night #1, then 8:40pm on night #2, then 8:30pm on night #3, and so on.
3. At the same time, start waking your child up ten minutes earlier every morning for at least seven days straight or until you’ve reached the appropriate hour that ensures they’re getting the right amount of sleep.
Again, this includes the weekend, but there’s another bonus involved here. Waking up earlier and at the same time every day should naturally give your child enough time to wake up easily and get ready for school without feeling rushed. Think of it as a hard reset for your child’s circadian rhythm – you know, that little internal clock that tells your body when it’s time to be awake and when to go to sleep? Sometimes, we need to kickstart that little guy into gear to get him working flawlessly (*insert chef’s kiss*).
So, while earlier mornings on the weekend may seem unfair, I promise it will significantly improve your child’s behavior and overall attitude during the day when they’re getting ample sleep and limiting external stressors first thing in the morning, like time constraints.
Want to add a cherry on top? Throw open those blinds first thing in the morning to send external signals to your child’s brain and body that it is, in fact, time to be awake. Light of any kind, but especially natural light, has the incredible effect of signaling to our brains and bodies that we no longer need to produce melatonin, and therefore start producing energizing hormones to support being awake. Cool, huh?
Example: If your child’s current morning wake-up is 8am, start by waking her up at 7:50am on day #1, then 7:40am on day #2, then 7:30am on day #3, and so on.
4. While this step isn’t required, it does make a significant difference in not only your child’s quality of sleep, but also your own. In the late afternoon or early evening hours when the sun is still out, get outside for at least 20 minutes. Go for a walk, an afternoon bike ride, a park playdate – whatever works for you and your child that day. The exposure to natural sunlight during the few hours before bed rejuvenates the body’s biological clock to optimize hormone production necessary for healthy, regenerative sleep.
And bonus – this works for people of all ages and really makes a difference when experiencing any form of jet lag!
So, there you have it! A quick and easy guide to help your kiddo jump back into the school routine. It might seem too simple, but more often than not, that tends to be the case when solving typical sleep problems for kids. It’s easy to get caught up and confused when we’re getting less sleep ourselves, so do yourself a favor and follow your child’s lead on this. Your body (and brain) will be so much better for it!
Oh, and guess what? This process also works great when traveling across time zones with your kids, too. No more struggles when it comes to crazy late nights or super early mornings on vacation – yes, please!
Cheers to better sleep!
PS. Still struggling with your kiddo’s sleep? I’ve got you, mama! Click the link below to book a FREE 15-min discovery call and let’s chat about how we can work together to get your family sleeping better ASAP!
