According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Harvard Medical School...

• Research is showing that the quantity and quality of the sleep we get greatly impacts our ability to learn and our memory.
• Those who are sleep-deprived cannot focus their attention optimally and therefore cannot learn efficiently.
• Sleep plays a role in the consolidation of memory, which turns out to be essential for the learning of new information.
• Insufficient sleep is also strongly linked to greater risks of certain chronic diseases and health problems.

So...how much sleep do kids (and adults) need?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends:

Preschool-aged Children  11-12 hours a day

School-aged Children  At least 10 hours a day

Teens  9-10 hours a day

Adults 7-8 hours a day

To help your children do their best this school year make sure they are getting their sleep! 

• Make "bedtime" consistent each night. 
• Make sure their bedrooms are quiet and dark. 
• Remove distractions like computers, electronic games, TV's and cell phones from their room. 

Help your children get the sleep they need!  ZZzzzzzzz...