Maintain your sleep hygiene

Sleep Awareness Week runs from March 12-18 and is the perfect time to ensure you are practicing good sleep hygiene. Sleep experts at Baylor College of Medicine offer helpful tips to help you get a good night’s rest.

Dr. Sonal Malhotra, assistant professor of pediatrics – pulmonary and sleep medicine and associate program director of the sleep medicine fellowship at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital, reminds parents of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s recommended nightly sleep durations for their kids:

• Ages 4 months to 1 year should get 12 to 16 hours of sleep
• Ages 1 to 2 years should get 11 to 14 hours of sleep
• Ages 3 to 5 years should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep
• Ages 6 to 12 years should get nine to 12 hours of sleep
• Ages 13 to 18 years should get eight to 10 hours of sleep

“Children should have a consistent bedtime routine. Remove electronics at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime and instead do some light reading or listen to relaxing music. Turn off the phone once in bed and use a traditional alarm clock,” Malhotra said.

Dr. Annise Wilson, assistant professor of medicine – pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, stresses the importance having a wind down period before bedtime.

“Everyone should begin winding down at least an hour before falling asleep. Use this time to create the ideal sleep environment: one that is cool, dark and quiet,” Wilson said.

Dr. Philip Alapat, assistant professor of sleep medicine, says everyone should prioritize sleep above all — even more than your streaming services.

“An informal survey of many of my patients suggests that the practice of watching on-demand programming is often done at night after daily activities like chores, childcare, bills, never-ending work etc. Consequentially, sleep times are sacrificed because wake times are usually non-negotiable,” Alapat said.