Health experts advise adjusting sleep schedules school-aged children

WESLACO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With many Rio Grande Valley schools set to start in the next couple of weeks, health experts advise parents to adjust their kids' sleep schedules.

Dr. Jorge Kutugata, a pediatrician with the Rainbow Pediatric Clinic in Weslaco, said lack of sleep could cause many issues with physical and behavioral health as well as performance in school.

“Lack of sleep and hyperactivity go together hand in hand, and you have to ask those questions because you can fall into the wrong diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, or ADHD when the only thing that the patient needs is sleep," Dr. Kutugata said.

According to Dr. Kutugata, school-aged children need 8 to 10 hours of sleep and infants need 10-14. He said everyone experiences physical and mental changes based on a circadian rhythm that acts as a natural 24-hour clock that our bodies go through.

Dr. Kutugata identifies electronics as a contributing factor to inadequate sleep.

“All the tablets and the phones, they have a blue light that comes through our eyes and makes the brain keep on going so I tell the parents of my patients to confiscate the tablets and the phones at 4 p.m. ... So, that way by 8 o'clock, the brain is already compressing and they can go to bed easier," Dr. Kutugata said.

He advises parents to begin implementing better sleep habits now to prepare for the upcoming school year. His recommendations include encouraging physical exercise throughout the day, confiscating electronics a few hours before bedtime, and serving lighter dinners.

"They need to be alert during the day for our children to be able to learn, and to grasp, and to educate," Dr. Kutugata said.