On this episode we're joined by Ariel Williamson, a licensed psychologist & assistant professor at The Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health and The Department of Psychology, to explore how children's sleep habits affect their emotional well-being, behavior, and learning. Williamson discusses why sleep is foundational for kids' health, how families can recognize when sleep routines are off track, and shares practical strategies to help children get the rest they need—especially during the back-to-school transition.
Topics
- Why sleep is a pillar of children's health [4:27]
- The biggest challenges in shifting from summer to school-year routines [6:28]
- Common sleep problems and how many kids are affected [9:05]
- Recommended sleep amounts by age and how to adapt them for your child [11:56]
- Bedtime battles: why they happen and how to ease them [15:13]
- Causes of poor sleep, from environment to stress and mental health [18:20]
- When to seek help from a doctor or specialist [24:36]
- Why "one size does not fit all" when it comes to kids' sleep [27:40]
Guest
- Ariel A. Williamson, PhD, Licensed Psychologist & Assistant Professor, The Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health and The Department of Psychology
Resources
- www.babysleep.com The Pediatric Sleep Council offers free, evidence-based advice about child sleep patterns and problems.
- Nemours/Kids Health provides information for both kids and families about children's sleep.
- Start Schools Later is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healthy teen sleep by moving school start times later to better align with adolescents' social and biological rhythms. The site explains why teens tend to stay up later and sleep in later and offers other tips to promote healthy teen sleep.
Quotes from the Episode
- "It's important to consider sleep as a pillar of health, just as you would with getting optimal physical activity and healthy eating." [4:37]
- "Sleep and mental health are really bi-directionally related, meaning they influence one another. The same is the case for sleep and other outcomes like pain , for example, or chronic illness." [5:28]
- "That's one of our most robust or our strongest findings is that teens are not lazy. They're not just trying to be night owls and stay up all night for no reason. It's really determined by a biological shift" [11:01]
- "It's doing the best you can to get your child enough sleep and changes can be small. This might mean that you put your child in bed 15 minutes earlier, and you lay out things in the morning so they can get up 15 minutes later, and that's 30 more minutes of sleep. And we have studies that showed that 30 to 60 more minutes of sleep really can have a benefit to next day functioning. [14:32]
- "For sleep, one size does not fit all." [27:40]
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