If I were to make one change to my child's sleep, what is the change I should make?

Speaker: Alexa Wilmarth, PMHNP-BC, CHC's Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services

Alexa Wilmarth, PMHNP-BC: Hi, my name is Alexa Wilmarth. I'm a psychiatric nurse practitioner here at CHC. So the question being asked today is if I were to make one change to my child's sleep, what is the change I should make? This is a great question because so many kiddos especially in the setting of mental health challenges have sleep issues. So if you were to make one change, I would recommend keeping a consistent sleep schedule for your child with not just a regular bedtime but also regular wake up times, especially on the weekends. On the weekends or holiday breaks oftentimes kids, especially our teens, tend to sleep in sometimes even until noon. While sleep is great, we love sleep, sleeping in solely on the weekends decreases their sleep pressure. So when it comes time to go to bed on Sunday night, they may not feel tired because they haven't built up enough sleep pressure since they only just woke up at noon. So my number one piece of advice is make sure your child isn't sleeping in on the weekends or breaks more than 1 to 2 hours past their normal wake up time. This will help keep your child's internal clock in the regular pattern and set the tone for the week.