But it’s hard to force everyone into a new sleep routine at the drop of a hat, so it’s important to re-establish a healthy and consistent sleep routine gradually—before the fall mayhem is in full swing. The earlier you start, the easier it is to move toward the right bedtime for your necessary wakeup time (and avoid feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck when your alarm goes off). “Ideally, we should be keeping a consistent sleep schedule year-round, but we all know it can be challenging to do so with travel plans, camp, and summertime activities,” says Andrea Lopez-Yianilos, Psy.D., a New York–based licensed clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine expert. “It’s especially important to get back to a consistent sleep schedule before the school year in order to maximize learning for kids and effectiveness at work: Muscle repair and memory consolidation are two important processes occurring when we sleep.” Anxious over how you’re going to rein in those summer sleep habits? Read these straightforward bedtime tips to try right now so you and the fam can reset your internal clocks and get the rest you need. If you know everyone will have to start waking up earlier once summer ends, try to get everyone out of bed a little bit earlier every day as the summer winds down. That way the first few days of school (or work or whatever’s dragging you out of bed) won’t be such a drastic change—you and your family will be (somewhat) ready to roll at [insert unconscionable hour here]. For anyone with a remote learning or work format, Roy Raymann, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at SleepScore Labs, goes a step further. He recommends families take this opportunity to develop a learning schedule that promotes the kids’ circadian rhythms and sleep requirements. That means establishing and maintaining as regular a daily routine as possible too. So in addition to keeping fixed wake times, try as much as possible to stick to consistent meal times, activity times, learning times, breaks, leisure time, and, of course, bedtimes. Families taking on the school day from home should balance the kids’ curriculums with healthy breaks. “Keep some exercise and physical activity in your child’s daily schedule and plan activity breaks, [since] working from behind a screen can make them stationary for too long.” Raymann says. “And make sure [they] still go outside and gets some outdoor light during the day.” RELATED: 11 Healthy Habits That Can Help You Sleep Better “Implement a wind-down routine,” Lopez-Yianilos suggests. “Try to create a buffer zone about 30 to 45 minutes before bed to give your mind and body a cue that you’re transitioning to bedtime. For example, read a book on the couch or listen to soothing music. And don’t go to bed if you’re not sleepy—read a book or engage in a soothing activity for 15 minutes, and then reassess your sleepiness.” RELATED: 6 Nightly Techniques to Help You Fall Asleep Fast, According to Sleep Experts If you’re serious about making changes to your sleep habits and schedule: “Use your bed only for the three S’s: sleep, sex, or when you’re sick,” Lopez-Yianilos says. “No reading, watching TV, eating, working, or social media in bed.” And she recommends keeping the bedroom “cool, quiet, dark, and comfortable to maximize quality of sleep.” “Reduce screen time in the evening to avoid blue light, which can impact sleep, even more strongly in teens,” Raymann says. If you need to, keep all phones and devices out of your own and the kids’ bedrooms, and make sure to limit screen use before bed (phones, tablets, TVs, and computers emit blue light that tricks your brain into thinking it’s time to wake up—which is the opposite of what you’re going for here.)
