A new school year kicks off Monday morning and that means your child's lazy, relaxed days of summer are about to be replaced with packed schedules full of class time, homework, and after school activities. More than likely your children have been staying up late and sleeping in through much of their summer-break, and getting them back into a healthy sleep routine may be challenging to say the least.

Do you often go through the day feeling sleepy, sluggish, and lethargic, even after a full night's rest? While it's common to occasionally feel dead tired during the day, persistent symptoms of daytime drowsiness could be linked to your sleep and health habits.

There are a couple of possible reasons why you may be experiencing daytime drowsiness, and we want to help you better understand what you can do to start feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed everyday.

We all know that getting good sleep at night has a direct impact on how we feel during the day. If you sleep poorly even one night, you will probably feel sluggish and tired the next day. If you continually get poor sleep it can lead to some serious health problems down the road.

However, while most of us know how important sleep is to our health, many people may not realize that they're practicing poor sleep habits.  Below is a list of seven bad sleeping habits to avoid as soon as possible:

Have you been feeling excessively sleepy during the day?  Are you having trouble going to sleep at night, staying asleep, or waking up earlier than you'd like?  Do you have difficulty concentrating or staying focused while at work or school?  Do you need caffeine to keep you awake and alert?  Does the sleep you do get feel unrestorative, or as if it's just not enough?

If your quality of sleep constantly feels like it's just not adequate enough, it's possible that you may have a sleep disorder.  And if you feel like you may have a sleep disorder, you're probably going to need to have a sleep study to discover the root cause of your nightly troubles.

Talking with your primary care physician or a sleep specialist about your difficulties with sleep is critical to getting a sleep study performed to find out just what is going wrong.  And more than likely your physician will ask you to keep a sleep diary for at least two weeks so he can figure out why you may be having trouble sleeping.

If you want to get ahead of the curve, start keeping a sleep diary as soon as you begin to recognize a problem.  It can only help to expedite the process towards proper diagnosis and treatment.

One of the things that makes Alaska such a unique place to live or visit is its amazing summers. Summer time in Alaska is like no other place in the U.S. because of the vast amount of daylight we get. In the northernmost parts of the state the sun refuses to set for nearly a month. In the interior, the sun briefly dips behind the mountains leaving golden hues to hold its place until it returns minutes later. And even in the southern parts of the state, periods of darkness are so short, that if you blink, you could miss it.

Most likely you have a favorite sleep position. For most of us, this is the first position in which we lay after getting into bed.  It’s usually our most comfortable position, and most likely the position you’ve been sleeping in for years.

Have you ever thought that your favorite sleeping position may be affecting your sleep? And if so, are there better positions to enhance your sleep?

Being a mom can be as rewarding as it is difficult. With all the joy comes challenges, such as not getting enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 90% of parents believe that sleep is very important in their lives for their own wellbeing and that of their family. But how many moms are getting enough sleep?

It’s that time of year again … the time when we make a promise to ourselves that we’ll finally hit the gym, lose weight, or spend more time with friends and family.

Perhaps I’m biased, but it is always surprising to me that “improving sleep” does not show up on more New Year’s resolution lists. Sleep, along with exercise and diet, are part of the three “pillars of health.”

Sleeping isn’t always the easiest thing to do. The Center of Disease Control estimates that 35% of Americans do not get enough sleep on a nightly basis, either through lifestyle habits, insomnia, or another sleep disorder. Even worse, a chronic lack of sleep raises a person’s risks for a myriad of health complications.

Falling asleep effectively might require a lifestyle change, but there are science-backed steps you can take to fall asleep quicker and easier. Even better – you won’t even have to take pills to do it.

No one needs to tell you twice – when you’re pregnant, you’re tired.  All the time.  And there’s no better time to justify hitting the snooze button one or five more times.