How will your child adjust to daylight saving time?
This is a guest blog written by Dr. Scott Krugman, vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at The Herman & Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai.
It's that time of year again. Soon, clocks will go forward and we will lose an hour of sleep as a result.
Or will we?
Some parents dread daylight saving time changes; others look forward to it. How these time changes affect kids depends on the age of the child.
Infants and Toddlers
If you are a parent of an infant or toddler, you can almost guarantee one thing: he or she will be up at the crack of dawn every day no matter what. Thinking about sleeping in on a Saturday? Forget about it. Young children often fall asleep early, sleep 10 to 12 hours, and then wake up early. If your child follows this pattern, you probably can't wait until the clocks spring forward: The overnight change of one hour actually gives parents an extra hour of sleep (i.e., if your child wakes up at 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.). No need to plan, no need to change your sleep schedule for your infant. Just roll with their sleep times and enjoy your extra hour of sleep.
School-aged children and teenagers
Very few children who have to wake up for an early school bus get enough sleep. Between after-school activities, homework, TV, video games and group texting chats, they're lucky if they are in bed before 10 p.m.
As a parent, your best bet is to help your school-aged child prepare for daylight saving a week ahead of time. Try to have them turn off the electronics earlier or cut back on TV time so they can get to bed closer to, say, 9 p.m. rather than 10 p.m., so when the clock moves forward the impact won't be quite as harsh. Generally, enforcing a strict sleep schedule, with at least one hour away from bright screens prior to bedtime, will help your child fall asleep.
If your child is unable to reset his or her sleep schedule and remains very tired during school or is missing early classes, make sure you notify your child's doctor as other issues may be going on like a circadian rhythm disorder.
In general, the more routine sleep time is, the easier any transition is handled. Children who develop sleep routines from a young age and learn to fall asleep on their own at a predetermined time are much more likely to adapt to changes like daylight saving time much easier than those who don't have routine schedules. The more consistent parents can be with sticking to these schedules, the quicker their children will return to their baseline.
Dedicated to improving the lives of individuals in its surrounding communities through compassionate, high-quality care, LifeBridge Health advocates preventive, wellness and fitness services as well as educational programs. Call 410-601-WELL for more information or to schedule an appointment.