LAS CRUCES - Are your kids getting enough sleep? There may be a few sleepless or sleep-deprived nights as area K-12 students start school and adjust to new schedules this month.

But what happens if sleep problems persist? Not getting enough sleep can contribute to many problems, from learning disorders to a host of serious physical and mental issues.

In June, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued new guidelines for the recommended minimum and maximum hours each age group should regularly sleep during a 24-hour period for optimal health. Sleep times range from 12 to 16 hours for ages 4 to 12 months and 10 to 13 hours for ages 3 to 5 (including naps) to 8 to 10 hours for ages 13 to 18.

“Regularly sleeping fewer than the number of recommended hours is associated with attention, behavior, and learning problems. Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and depression,” the AASM states, adding that too much sleep has been linked to obesity, diabetes and mental health problems.

The report said sleep “also must be appropriately timed and without disturbances.”

The recommendations, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, were formulated by a panel of 13 sleep experts who reviewed 864 scientific articles.

Stick to a schedule

Brooke Robeson, founder of Las Cruces Moms, said she feels it is crucial to establish sleep schedules for her children, ages 5 and 19 months.

“My kids go to bed at 7 p.m. every night. Our children are very receptive to laying down then. If we read together, they’re usually ‘out’ by a quarter past 7. We sometimes let our children stay up late for a special occasion, but we get back to a schedule as soon as possible,” said Robeson, who feels the schedule is important for parents, too. “Whether you’re a single parent, or one spouse is working and the other is staying at home, you need that time for yourself, and it’s very important for couples, too.”

Such attention to a regular schedule is crucial, agrees Ikrita Klair, M.D., a board certified specialist in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine who supervises the Sleep Lab at MountainView Regional Medical Center.

“Parents have to be very strict about sleep hygiene, with the same bedtime and wake up time every day. Sometimes kids try to trick parents with requests for water or to ask to join mommy in her bed, but parents have to commit to a very strict regimen and not give in,” Klair said.

She stressed that parenting skills should include firm discipline.

If younger children cry, “let them cry” until they adjust to a regular schedule, Klair advises.

What happens before bedtime is important, too.

“A couple of hours before bedtime avoid physical activity and heavy meals,” she suggests, along with a ban about an hour before bedtime on all screens (smartphones, laptops, tablets, electronic games, PCs and televisions). Studies have shown that blue light emitted from electronic devises can disrupt sleep patterns.

School start times

The America Academy of Pediatrics, which has endorsed the new guidelines, in 2014 released a policy calling for middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 p.m. and recommended that if schools start earlier, parents should make sure their kids get to bed earlier to get enough sleep, even if it means cutting back on activities such as sports, band and extracurricular clubs.

Las Cruces Public Schools website shows 8:40 a.m. as the starting time (first bells ring at 8:30 a.m.) for high schools and 8 a.m. for elementary schools.

Klair feels ensuring that children get recommended amounts of sleep is more important that exact rising times, and stressed that it is important to maintain regular schedules during weekends and vacations, too.

“Your brain has a clock, and if you disturb that biological clock, waking up late on weekends, parents can find it will be hard to get their children back on a regular schedule. The brain has to get into sleep mode,” she said.

Naps can cause problems for older children and teens.

“All these things have to be monitored by parents. If kids are coming home from school and taking naps that make it hard for them to fall asleep at night, it’s not healthy for their homeostatic sleep drive,” she said.

“Sleep-wake homeostasis is an internal biochemical system that operates as a kind of timer or counter, generating a homeostatic sleep drive or pressure to sleep, and regulating sleep intensity,” according to

Hormonal changes can impact and alter sleep patterns in growing children and teens.

Sleep disorders

Parents should be alert for signs of sleep disorders, such as nocturnal seizures, night terrors, and sleepwalking, all reasons to seek medical help.

“Physicians know how to screen for problems,” Klair said, and in some cases might want to refer children for sleep studies.

Narcolepsy, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks (falling asleep unexpectedly), or falling asleep or falling down in response to emotional situations or a loud noise, “typically starts in adolescence or very young adulthood, though it has been diagnosed in children as young as 6 or 7,” Klair said.

Obstructive sleep apnea interrupts, obstructs, or completely closes off the upper airway, causing low oxygen levels. In children, contributing factors can include tonsils, swollen nasal passages, asthma and allergies.

Parasomnia, Klair explained, refers to a host of abnormal sleep behaviors, including night terrors, sleepwalking, talking in one’s sleep, and sleep eating.

Whether the problem is a regular sleep schedule or a more serious issue requiring medical attention and therapy, helping your child to get a good night’s sleep can be crucial to health and success in school.

“Sleep fatigue can be a factor in hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder and irritable, tired children are often wrongfully diagnosed," Klair said. "Sleep-deprived teens with chronic sleep disorders can be at risk for cardiovascular disease, heart arrhythmias, metabolic disorders and mood problems.”

Though it can involve a lot more than a cuddly teddy bear, soothing songs or bedtime stories, helping your child learn to establish healthy sleep patterns is a major life skill and an achievement with big dividends.

Studies indicate the benefits of regularly meeting recommended sleep goals include better behavior, learning, memory, attention span and emotional regulation skills.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at 575-541-5450, or @derricksonmoore on Twitter.

How much sleep do your kids need?


• 4 to 12 months:12 to 16 hours (including naps)

• 1 to 2 years:11 to 14 hours (including naps)

• 3 to 5 years:10 to 13 hours (including naps)

• 6 to 12 years: 9 to 12 hours

• 13 to 18 years: 8 to 10 hours

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine

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