Sleep is one of the most important factors for maintaining good health. It becomes a huge task for kids to stay in bed and sleep peacefully. Parents can relate to how difficult it is for children to get in bed and stay there. Sleep-deprivation could lead to extreme mood fluctuations, unwanted physical ailments and loss in concentration and focus.
While there are no quick tricks to ensure your child always gets a good night’s sleep, a good bed-time routine can slowly but surely help. A well-rounded sleep schedule will make your child sleep better and feel extremely rested for the following day. Here are a few tips you can inculcate in your child’s sleep-schedule for them to get the quality sleep they need:
Bedtime routine
A sound sleep for your child should be a priority. Having a consistent ‘go-to bed’ and ‘wake up’ time helps them to rest their mind and body. It is pretty visible whether your child is getting adequate amounts of sleep if they snooze within 15 minutes of hitting the bed, don’t nap during the day and are ‘active’ throughout.
Suitable room temperature
It should not be freezing cold or blazing hot. Children should ideally sleep at room temperature so that they don’t wake up in the night due to it being cold or hot. Often they tend to kick away their bed covers while sleeping, at room temperature, this doesn’t really affect their sleep.
Check for disturbances or lights
A quiet room with lights off is an ideal setting for children to sleep. Having natural light coming in from the window is more than enough in case they wake up in the middle of the night. There could be exceptions where the child doesn’t like a dark room, in such situations, have a dim light lit on or have the main room lights on for them to feel safe.
Nutrition for a well-balanced sleep
Good nutrition promotes good sleep. The food that kids eat affects their sleep pattern. A nutritious meal should include the right amount of macronutrients for children which helps them in their physical and mental well being. Some hacks which parents could focus on before their child hits their bed are feeding them a light meal, not giving them caffeine in any form and restricting consumption of soda and sweets. Feeling hungry or extremely full before bed hinders their sleep pattern drastically.
No Screen-time before bed
One of the most important and unspoken aspects of a sound sleep is Melatonin. It is a hormone which regulates the sleep-cycle of an individual. Did you know that constantly using your screens before bed decreases this hormone in your body? When Melatonin levels are high, an individual will have a deeper sleep. Make their bed a screen-free zone so that your child can literally sleep like a baby.
It's all about consistency. Following the above mentioned steps with your child, repeatedly will over a period of time help them attain a good peaceful sleep, which allows you, the parent, to sleep peacefully too. Keep an eye out for kids who are going through sleeping disorders. If your child or another child you know shows signs of a sleep order, consult a sleep disorder neurologist at the earliest.
