Insomnia and general sleep issues are increasing amid our new home-schooling reality, according to Dr. Jose Colon, a Lee Health physician certified in sleep medicine, neurology, and lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Colon says the primary cause of sleep issues nowadays is that home-schooled children may spend too much time in their rooms and in their beds for reasons other than sleeping. Beds, of course, are associated with sleeping or napping, periods of rest that heal the body and mind.

“There isn’t anything wrong with home-schooling or video games, but I see this trend often with children,” Dr. Colon says. “When we discuss sleep hygiene, we discuss regular bedtimes and regular wake times. It applies to both adults and children. Spending time in their rooms or beds doing non-sleep activity stimulates the brain, the opposite of what the brain needs when settling in for restful sleep.”

Get tips for pediatric sleep during the coronavirus at leehealth.org