If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
We try to hold tight with a 9:00 p.m. weekly bedtime. Trystan (age 13) knows he swims better after a good night’s sleep, so he will head to bed at 8:00-8:30 p.m. on the night before a meet so as to offset the 5:30 a.m. wake-up. We know that Trystan does as well as he does in school because of his dedication to a regular sleep schedule that gives his brain time to rest and really learn all that he has taken in each day.
The point that hit home for my three sons (ages 17, 19, and 22) is that sleep can improve sports performance, test performance, and, really, performance in all aspects of their lives.
A2024 study objectively measured sleep for all family members and showed that “Adolescents whose parents did not set limits on sleep time or screen use went to bed over an hour later and slept over 30 min less on school nights.”
