Put sleep on back-to-school checklist, experts say

For teenagers, summer often means staying up to all hours of the night and sleeping in the next day. That will, or should, all come to an end shortly as students head back to school, experts advise.

Parents can help ease the shock of having to wake up early for the school bus by getting their teen back on a good sleep schedule now, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

"With school around the corner, it is important to start to work on your sleep homework so that your school work doesn't suffer," AASM spokesperson Ralph Downey III, of Loma Linda University Medical Center, California, notes in an AASM-issued statement.

"Of equal importance as changing the sleep-wake schedule for the new class schedule is to be certain to also obtain sufficient sleep," Downey said, "so that the school days are not spent in a mental fog that impairs learning." The AASM recommends that adolescents get about nine hours of sleep each night.

Students who are chronically sleep deprived may have difficulty learning, thinking, making decisions, using good judgment or solving problems. Adolescents' immune system and overall health may also suffer, sleep experts warn.

Moreover, recent studies, the AASM points out, have associated a lack of sleep with an increased risk of health problems such as depression, obesity, heart disease and diabetes; emotional problems such as moodiness or irritability; and cognitive problems such as reduced memory functioning, delayed reaction time and a lack of motivation.

"Getting the proper quantity and quality of sleep is just as important as the proper diet in allowing your child to function their best," AASM spokesperson Dr. William C. Kohler of the Florida Sleep Institute said.

The AASM offers these 10 tips on how to get a good night's sleep once the school year begins:

-Limit "sleeping in" on weekends, which makes it harder to wake up on Monday.

-Do not stay up all hours of the night to "cram" for an exam or do homework.

-Don't study, read, watch TV or talk on the phone in bed. Only use your bed for sleep.

-Avoid foods or drinks that contain caffeine, as well as any medicine that acts as a stimulant, prior to bedtime.

-Eat a small snack before bedtime to avoid going to bed hungry.

-Avoid any rigorous exercise within six hours of bedtime.

-Signal to your body that it's bedtime by avoiding bright lights in the evening and at night.

-Go to bed early enough to get a full night's sleep every night.

-Follow a consistent bedtime routine.

-Make your bedroom quiet, dark and a little bit cool.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)