Back To School And Back To Sleep: How To Readjust

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Many students are back in school this week and perhaps feeling the pain of a new sleep schedule.

KSL TV sat down with a sleep expert to get some advice on how to re-adjust. One thing we learned: adjusting takes time.

“It generally takes about a day or so to move your biological clock — your circadian rhythm — and hour or more,” said Dr. Dixie Harris, pulmonary and sleep specialist at Altaview Medical, Specialty Clinic. “If your children need to get up at about 6 a.m. and they’re currently getting up at 9 a.m., you need three plus days of being very consistent to move that clock.”

For those who haven’t started school yet, now is the time to prepare new sleep schedules.

Harris suggests adjusting bedtimes by 15 minutes each day, and she says to eliminate screen time of any kind one to two hours before bedtime.

She also said families should scale back on outdoor activities before bed. Bodies need to know it’s time to wind down, so taking an evening walk or having playtime to get the wiggles out only tells your body it’s still time to be awake.

Every person is different, though, and everyone has a different nightly routine. Harris said that routine should also carry into the weekends.