Back to School Essentials
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Summer is winding down fast and for many parents our attention turns to preparing our kids for back to school. The endless supplies list includes pencils, paper, backpacks and more. All of those items are important for success in the classroom, but at The Mattress Hub we want to make sure parents understand there is another essential element to your child’s performance at school…healthy sleep.
If our children are not sleeping well at night, it will impact their ability to learn in school. Lack of sleep negatively effects attention span, memory capacity and ability to focus. As parents we have a responsibility to properly prepare our kids at home so that they can maximize their efforts at school.
Here are some things we want parents to know about healthy sleep as we head back into the school year:
How long should we sleep at night?
In 2015, the National Sleep Foundation released new recommendations for appropriate sleep durations. Parents need to understand these suggested durations so they can properly plan a bed time.
- Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day
- Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours
- School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours
- Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours
- Adults (26-64): Sleep range is 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours
How do we prepare at night for bedtime?
The most important thing a parent can do is establish a proper routine. The longer a routine is established the easier it is for the child’s body and mind to both adapt and prepare for sleep. Have an established bedtime and routine to calm down at night. Also, it’s imperative to limit caffeine consumption and exposure to blue lights from mobile devices. Some studies suggest that the half-life of caffeine is three to five hours, meaning that it takes your body that amount of time to emit half of that caffeine level in your system. Caffeine impacts your brain’s ability to get into and stay in a REM sleep cycle that is incredibly essential for overall sleep health. Blue light has a similar impact. Research suggest that exposure to blue light suppresses the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, which in turn impacts your body’s ability to naturally progress into a healthy sleep cycle.
How important is the mattress for my child?
Sure, we are biased, but countless research suggests that what a person sleeps on impacts their ability to maximize their sleep. Find a mattress that can accomplish proper spinal alignment while at the same time eliminate painful pressure points. At The Mattress Hub, we have several products that we specifically merchandise into our program for children to accomplish these goals and deliver healthier sleep. Equally important are the pillows and sheets used with your child’s sleep system. We want to find a proper fitting pillow as well as sheets that are breathable in order to prevent heat build up. An improper sized pillow and a hot environment, along with a poor mattress, all impact the brains ability to cycle into REM sleep and deliver the essential rest your child needs.
We hope these quick tips will be useful as you prepare your child to head back to school. We also encourage you to go online to www.mattresshub.com or stop by any of our 12 Kansas locations to check out the options we have for your child during our annual Back to School Event. Our team will work hard to educate you on the options available and the best fit for you or your child. At The Mattress Hub our goal is simple….we want to change the way you sleep, FOREVER![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
