HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Experts are helping families start the school year off right by slowly transitioning off of the summer sleep schedule.

Sleep is vital for children’s physical and mental health.

“All of a sudden when they have to start getting up at six in the morning when they’ve been getting up at noon, it can be really hard to unroll that,” said Dr. Craig Canapari, Yale School of Medicine.

Dr. Canapari recommended children in the 6th grade and younger to have a bed time where they can get between nine and 11 hours of sleep.

However, he said the wake-up time is more of the concern for older children.

“For teenagers, we want to give them some autonomy, so it’s better to give them a wake time and let them set their sleep times accordingly,” added Dr. Canapari.

Experts recommended

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