How to get kids back on a sleep schedule for the school year
[August 14, 2025]
By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN
NEW YORK (AP) — After a summer of vacations and late nights, it's time
to set those back-to-school alarms.
A good night’s sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class.
Experts say it's worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of
a new school year.
“We don't say ‘ get good sleep ’ just because,” said pediatrician Dr.
Gabrina Dixon with Children's National Hospital. “It really helps kids
learn and it helps them function throughout the day.”
The amount of sleep kids need changes as they age. Preschoolers should
get up to 13 hours of sleep. Tweens need between nine and 12 hours.
Teenagers do best with eight to 10 hours of shut-eye.
Set an earlier bedtime
Early bedtimes can slip through the cracks over the summer as kids stay
up for sleepovers, movie marathons and long plane flights. To get back
on track, experts recommend setting earlier bedtimes a week or two
before the first day of school or gradually going to bed 15 to 30
minutes earlier each night.
Don't eat a heavy meal before bed and avoid TV or screen time two hours
before sleep. Instead, work in relaxing activities to slow down like
showering and reading a story.
“You're trying to take the cognitive load off your mind,” said Dr. Nitun
Verma, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “It
would be like if you're driving, you're slowly letting go of the gas
pedal.”
Parents can adjust their back-to-school plans based on what works best
for their child. Nikkya Hargrove moves her twin daughters' bedtimes up
by 30 minutes the week before school starts.
Sometimes, her 10-year-olds will negotiate for a few extra minutes to
stay up and read. Hargrove said those conversations are important as her
children get older and advocate for themselves. If they stay up too late
and don't have the best morning, Hargrove said that can be a learning
experience too.
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Second-grader Aaminah Ingram-Kirk, 7, leads the way off the bus for
the first day of school at Bishop McCort Catholic Elementary West on
Tioga Street in Johnstown, Pa., Aug. 21, 2024. (Thomas Slusser/The
Tribune-Democrat via AP, File)
 “If they're groggy and they don't
like how they feel, then they know, ‘OK, I have to go to bed
earlier,’” said Hargrove, an author and independent bookstore owner
from Connecticut.
In the morning, soaking in some daylight by sitting at a window or
going outside can help train the brain to power up, Verma said.
Squash back-to-school sleep anxiety
Sleep quality matters just as much as duration. First-day jitters
can make it hard to fall asleep no matter how early the bedtime.
Dixon says parents can talk to their kids to find out what is making
them anxious. Is it the first day at a new school? Is it a fear of
making new friends? Then they might try a test run of stressful
activities before school starts to make those tasks feel less scary
— for example, by visiting the school or meeting classmates at an
open house.
The weeks leading up can be jam-packed and it's not always possible
to prep a routine in advance. But kids will adjust eventually so
sleep experts say parents should do what they can. After all, their
kids aren't the only ones adjusting to a new routine.
“I always say, 'Take a deep breath, it'll be OK,'" Dixon said. “And
just start that schedule.”
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