Iowa (RI) — A sleep expert says Iowa parents should start pushing their kids’ bedtimes forward this week to get them adjusted to waking up early well before school starts. Dr. Allen Foster, a sleep medicine physician at Emplify Health by Gundersen, says it’s important for all of us to get a good night’s sleep.
Foster says we all have different sleep cycles and sleep needs, depending on our age, but kids can be quite varied, compared to adults.
Foster says kids may grumble about the earlier bedtime, but they’ll likely appreciate it once school bells ring, so the change from summer to fall hours won’t be so abrupt.
Given the amount of sleep kids need to stay healthy, Foster says he’d really like to see more Iowa schools start classes later.
He calls sleep the “silent architect” of health, immune function, cognitive and mental functions, and regulation of our emotional and metabolic systems.
KIWA Staff Photo
