Weekly challenge: simple test to see if your kids are getting enough sleep

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

As a parent, it’s tough for me to know how much sleep my kids really need -- especially since their needs have changed as they’ve moved through elementary school and into junior high and high school. In fact, researchers don’t even agree on the appropriate amount of sleep time for kids as they grow; this is evidenced by the fact that sleep recommendations have changed through the decades.

A review of recommendations dating back to 1897 have shown that experts have been cutting back on the amount of time they recommend kids sleep, but they’ve been consistent in one regard: the recommendations back then and now tend to exceed how much sleep the average child actually gets, according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics.

Lack of sleep has been associated with in an increased risk of obesity in kids as well as learning difficulties, moodiness, and, well, drowsiness during the day. But the amount of lost sleep hours that leads to these adverse effects remains a subject of debate, say the study’s Australian researchers.

The best way to judge if children are sleeping enough? They should be waking on their own in the morning without a parent or alarm clock -- something my own three kids only do on weekends.