Parents often stop paying attention to their kids’ sleep schedules when the kids get older, but as the Washington Post reports, that can be a mistake.
Parents also underestimate the amount of sleep a tween or teen needs. Last year, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, changed its recommendations for how much sleep children should get:
- Children 6 to 12 years: 9 to 12 hours of sleep each 24-hour period.
- Teens 13 to 18 years: 8 to 10 hours of sleep each 24-hour period.
“Sleep deprivation has negative consequences for children’s health at every age,” says Dr. Anayansi Lasso-Pirot, pediatric pulmonologist and interim head of the division of pediatric pulmonology, allergy and sleep medicine at the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital. “Sleep is a restorative part of the day. Just as you recharge an iPhone or iPad, children at every age must recharge their batteries by getting a good night’s sleep.”
Read more at www.washingtonpost.com
