Do you - or your children - get enough sleep?

As adults, we pull ourselves out of bed each morning, even if we haven't had enough sleep, and we trust that within an hour or so we'll be awake and functioning. Some down a few cups of coffee for a wake-up while others grab an apple - which is said to have the same benefit.

Our bodies suffer for it, so we go around foggy-headed, suffer from headaches, and feel generally lousy most of the time. Finally we come down with a cold or flu and are forced to take it easy for a while.

Given enough years of this kind of abuse, we can suffer from all sorts of maladies, because sleep time is necessary. It's when our bodies repair themselves. We need about 8 hours - we should take it!

In kids, it's when hormones that help them grow are released and when tissues not only repair themselves, but grow. Without sufficient sleep time, they can suffer real long term damage.

Inadequate sleep can also lead kids to do poorly in school and exhibit behavioral problems.

This need for sleep can be a real problem for kids who have to get up early to catch a school bus, and who get home late from a long bus ride. By the time they finish eating dinner they should be in bed.

Studies now show that kids between 5 and 12 years of age need 11 hours of sleep each night. So... if they have to be up at 6 a.m. to catch a bus, they need to have lights out by 7 p.m.

But of course, they do want to watch a favorite show, and sometimes there's homework to be done. I don't know what a parent can do about the homework, unless a talk with the teacher about the importance of sleep would get results. But as for the TV - parents need to "just say no." Your child's health is much more important than the "instant gratification" of watching a favorite show.

Even when you send them off to bed on time, often kids have trouble sleeping. We need to remember that they have worries too, and that can keep their minds reeling long past bedtime. Just because those worries seem trivial to us doesn't mean they aren't important to the kids.

So how about a nightly relaxation / meditation ritual with your kids? It would do you both good. It might also be helpful to schedule a little one-on-one time with each of them, so they can unload those worries. Sometimes just "getting it out" helps a worry go away.

Other steps you can take:

• Do your best to maintain a set schedule - go to bed at the same time every night
  

• A hot bath just before bed
  

• Limit drinks with caffeine during the evening - that includes cola drinks and some others.

• Keep the bedroom dark and cool

• Keep televisions and computers OUT of the bedroom - some experts believe that the energy they give off, even when turned off, can disrupt sleep. And of course if they're turned on...
  

Teens present an entirely different problem.

Most studies show they need 8 1/2 to 9 hours - but when they have to go to school they can't get it! It seems that biological rhythms change so that teens are often unable to fall asleep before 11 or midnight. Their body clocks then dictate that they should sleep until at least 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. But when school starts at 7:30 they can't do it.

Some schools, recognizing this fact of nature, have changed their hours and now start later. They report kids being more alert and actually able to learn in that first hour, where before they were unable.

To learn more about teens and sleep - and how you can help your own kids, go to http://www.parent-teen.com/yourbody/sleep.html