Valley health care expert weighs in on the importance of back-to-school routine
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Summer break is coming to an end for many Valley students, and some are looking forward to going back.
Whether they are ready to go back or not, Valley health care experts say now may be the best time to start getting back into a routine.
"They start going to sleep early, like a week before school so they can get accustomed to waking up early," Valley parent Olga Alvarez said.
"I'm still allowing them to sleep at the time they want," Valley parent Nelly Pena said. "But I know I have to start putting them on a sleep schedule and have them in bed by nine."
Health care professionals at the Hidalgo County Precinct 2 Back-to-School Health Fair that was held Saturday at the San Juan Community Resource Center administered vaccines and gave away supplies. They were also encouraging families to start adapting healthy sleeping habits too.
"At least two weeks ahead of time to give them enough time to get back into a schedule," Hidalgo County nurse Patricia Garcia-Ibarra said.
Children younger than 12-years-old should get about 10 hours of sleep and it is recommended that teens get eight and half to nine hours of sleep.
A lack of sleep could lead to consequences in the classroom.
"Sleep is important in order to learn," Garcia-Ibarra said. "They're going to be irritable, might be hyper, they'll be lethargic."
Texting and surfing social media before bed could make falling asleep harder, it is recommended to unplug at least an hour before bedtime.
"We turn off the phone, the internet and everything—the television also," Alvarez said. "Everything is turned off."
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