Loralee Stevens, left, and her son Simon, 7, read together at their Tonganoxie home. Simon struggled for a while with bedtime, and Loralee has employed a number of strategies to help him settle down at night.

Few things feel as good as a good night’s sleep.

And, according to Lawrence physician Terrance Riordan, few things are as good for you, or your child, as a good eight to 10 hours sleep.

But getting kids to bed, and to sleep, can sometimes be a challenge for parents.

When Tonganoxie resident Loralee Stevens’ son, Simon, turned 7, he began to realize he was missing out on things that happened after he went to bed. That’s when Simon, now 8, started to rebel.

“He would go to bed but then get up and would suddenly want to discuss jelly beans or something that had happened at school that day,” Stevens says.

Simon now uses lavender spray on his pillow and a white noise machine to help him get to sleep.

“Simon’s sleep pattern is also related to the amount of physical activity he gets,” Stevens says. “When he rides his bike a lot during the day, he has no trouble getting to sleep at night.”

Physical activity is something Riordan suggests for helping kids, or anyone, sleep well. But he suggests only light activity shortly before bedtime. Other suggestions from the doctor include:

• No soda or other caffeine after 3 p.m.

• Decrease in activity right before bedtime.

• A sleep-related ritual, such as warm bath, special song or reading a story at bedtime.

Riordan says that, in general, after age 1 everyone needs eight to 10 hours of sleep, but different people have different sleep needs.

Marsene Feldt of Lawrence has two children — Harrison, 11, and Atticus, 6. They each have different sleep requirements, but she tries to keep both boys on a regular bedtime schedule, even on the weekends. Both also bathe before bedtime and don’t watch a lot of television or play electronic games in the evenings, especially during the week.

Feldt also has noticed that Atticus needs more sleep than his older brother and is less eager to get up in the morning, even after 11 or more hours of sleep.

“If I know of something exciting he gets to do that day I remind him of it as he is trying to wake up,” Feldt says. “He’ll more quickly get up if he remembers his dad is going to have lunch with him at school. Anything that is meaningful to him works.”

Simon wants to sleep, he says, but fears that by going to bed early he’s missing out on the action.

“Sometimes I just want to see what’s happening, and I’m jealous that mom gets to stay up late and have fun,” he says.