National Sleep Foundation Talks Kids Sleep

Your kid is bouncing off the walls at 7 p.m., melting down over the wrong-colored cup, and you're standing there thinking: how are they not tired?

Here's what nobody tells you. When adults are sleep-deprived, we run out of battery — slow, foggy, flat. When kids are sleep-deprived, the system doesn't drain. It glitches. They speed up. Which means the child who looks least tired is often the one who needs sleep most.

New data says this is happening in almost half of American homes.

I'm joined by Dr. Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Scientific Affairs at the National Sleep Foundation, to unpack the 2026 Sleep in America® Poll: 44% of U.S. children aren't consistently getting the sleep they need, and most parents underestimate how much their child needs by more than an hour a night.

We cover the updated NSF sleep duration guidelines hour by hour, why tired kids look hyperactive instead of sleepy, bed-sharing and the social side of sleep, and what you can change tonight.

Read the full poll at thensf.org.

Share this with one parent or pediatric provider you know. Until next time — sleep well.