It's easy to have an "early to bed, early to rise" sleep schedule on school days, and a "stay up late, sleep in" schedule on weekends.

But research shows that's not the best way for children to get adequate sleep.

Studies show that altering a child's sleep schedule back and forth by just two hours over the weekends is equivalent to having a case of jet lag every week.

And that means the child goes back to school on Monday in a fatigued, jet-lagged state that requires a day or two of recovery.

In contrast, it's not surprising that children who keep the same bedtime and wake-up time every day of the week tend to have fewer sleep problems and learning problems than kids who stay up late on weekends.

It turns out that Grandma knew best:

Children do best with a consistent sleep schedule every day of the week, except on rare special occasions.