Your family to-do list may include last-minute mini summer vacations, reunions, back-to-school shopping and outdoor activities. The one crucial thing missing from your list might surprise you: sleep.

You may wonder how you can get more sleep when there are more exciting things to do, such as late-night movies and stargazing. Besides, you can always catch up on sleep when school forces you to, right?

Actually, sleep is essential for emotional, physical and mental wellbeing.

"Without enough hours of restorative sleep, you won't be able to work, learn, create and communicate at a level even close to your true potential," HelpGuide.org states. "Regularly skimp on 'service' and you're headed for a major mental and physical breakdown."

How much sleep is enough sleep? Physicians recommend that preschool children sleep 11-13 hours, grade school children sleep 8-10 hours, and middle and high school students sleep about nine hours at night.

Below are a few tips for getting on a back-to-school sleep schedule, as well as sleeping better throughout the night.

1. Evaluate your sleep surface

Are you tossing and turning throughout the night? Do you wake up with a crick in your neck and a bad mood? If so, it might be time to buy a new mattress. As you research different mattresses, make sure to invest in quality — a mattress that relieves pressure and is anti-microbial and non-off-gassing and that is made without PBDE flame-retardants and formaldehyde.

"Given that the average person spends about one third of her or his life sleeping, it's worth investing the time (and money) to find the right mattress for you," writes Laura Newcomer for Greatist.com.

2. Make your room a non-gadget room

Try buying alarm clocks for your children instead of using their cellphones as wake-up calls.

"The blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets and televisions restrain the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm," explains Sleep.org. "Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep."

Gadgets with lights include iPads, TVs, laptops and other electronic devices. Sleep.org recommends avoiding them 30 minutes before bedtime, or keeping them out of the bedroom altogether in order to get the best night's sleep possible.

3. Keep your bedroom cool.

A low temperature decreases the core body temperature and helps you fall asleep. As a parent, take charge of the thermostat and ensure children have fans or open windows to keep the room from getting hot and stuffy.

"Keeping your head nice and cool is conducive to good sleep," Time.com reported. "To achieve that, set your thermostat somewhere around 65 degrees, research suggests."

4. Dim the lights

You can help trigger melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone mentioned above, by closing blinds and curtains, dimming house lights a few minutes before bed and turning off all the lights when it's time for bed. You can even try using a sleep mask.

If your children are afraid of the dark, use night lights in their bedrooms and hallways so, if a trip to the bathroom is necessary, minimum light is used and it's easier for them to go back to sleep.

5. Eliminate noise

Barking dogs and a neighbor's late night party aren't always something your family can avoid, but using things like fans, white noise and soft music can help. If all else fails, try giving your children earplugs to mask the noise.

6. Make the bedroom for sleep only

Children have a lot on their plate during the school year, with juggling sports, homework, after-school jobs and a social life – it makes it easier for them to wind down if their bedroom is used for only one purpose: sleep.

According to HelpGuide.org, it's difficult to wind down at night if you associate your bed with events such as work or errands. Instead of allowing children to do homework in their bedrooms, create a workspace at the kitchen table before or after dinner, or set up a desk in the family room or basement so that it's easier for children to sleep at night instead of mulling over what still needs to be done.

7. Establish a bedtime routine

Make going to bed early and waking early a habit. In order to train yourself to follow a schedule, try going to bed 10 minutes earlier each night and getting up 10 minutes earlier every morning until you are at your desired schedule. Limit naps to 30 minutes, and make them as early in the afternoon as possible.

To make this a family affair, gather everyone and explain to your children that they will do better in all areas of life if they have quality sleep. "If parents can explain how sleep will effect grades, sports, activities ... it makes [establishing a routine] easier," according to Dr. Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist. "They should sit down with their kids and create a sleep schedule that everyone can live with."

8. Know the benefits.

Sleep is empowering. Healthy sleep is even more empowering. For example, according to an infographic made by FF Function for Zeo, a company that makes an electronic "sleep coach," you can lose 14.3 lbs. a year if you sleep one more hour each day instead of watching TV.

These are some other benefits of getting healthy sleep, particularly for teenagers:

• Less likely to suffer from a mental disorder
• More consistent with learning, memory and emotional cognition
• Engaged in fewer behavioral problems, such as drinking, bingeing and risky sexual behavior
• At a decreased risk of obesity
• Less likely to use sleep aids

Having trouble finding quality sleep for your family? Intellibed's sleep experts can help you.

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