You say you're tired? Join the club

By D. Aileen Dodd

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Has the summer vacation pep in your step turned into a downtrodden drag? Are you red-eyed, groggy and yawning before lunch?

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com April Jackson, 39, mother of three boys, Kaden, 7 (left); Kaamil, 2; and Kahlil, 9, uses three alarm clocks to help get her sons off to school.

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Then you may be suffering from a back-to-school sleep disorder known as parental exhaustion.

April Jackson, a Lawrenceville mother of three, admits she has been functioning on less sleep since her sons Kahlil, 9, and Kaden, 7, returned to Gwin Oaks Elementary. The first week of school soon brought an end to her late night movie dates with her husband, her midnight house cleaning frenzies and her socializing on Facebook.

“I used to stay up until 2 a.m. folding laundry, watching a movie — I got addicted to Facebook,” she said. “Now, I have to go to bed. It’s been an adjustment.”

Jackson must start her morning by 6:30 a.m. so her sons can get to school with a hot meal in their bellies. She gave her boys an earlier bedtime — 9:00 p.m. — so they can get the sleep they need. She also gave herself an 11 p.m. bedtime so she isn’t tired all day. Adults, on average, lose between one to two hours of sleep each school day as they adjust to the back-to-school routine, said Russell Rosenberg, vice chairman of the National Sleep Foundation.

“Even though that doesn’t seem like a lot, over time it can really have a profound impact on how you feel and function,” Rosenberg said. “Sleep deprivation can affect relationships and cause difficulties at work ... It can put more people at risk for heart disease, diabetes and increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents.”

Rosenberg, director of the Atlanta Sleep Medicine Clinic said most adults need seven-and-a-half to eight hours of sleep per night. Adolescents need nine hours of sleep each night. He also recommends the following:

• Adults and children should switch to earlier bedtimes and wake schedules during the school year. Keep a regular sleep schedule, and avoid extremes on weekends so kids get the sleep they need.

• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine like reading to wind down for sleep.

• Create a sleep environment that is cool, quiet, dimly lit and comfortable.

• Keep television, video games and other electronics out of the bedroom. The National Sleep Foundation’s 2006 Sleep in America poll found that electronic devices in the bedroom increases the likelihood of students falling asleep in class or while doing homework.

• Eliminate exposure to electronic media within an hour of bedtime.

• Limit caffeine.

• Eat well and exercise.

• Consult a physician if you have difficulty getting to sleep for more than a couple of weeks or if you are tired all the time.