How to Help Your Child Sleep Better

For all ages

Sleep hygiene refers to having healthy sleep habits and creating an environment that helps your child (and you) fall asleep faster, sleep through the night, and feel well-rested. In short, these are healthy habits that help us sleep better. Here is a comprehensive list of the do's and don'ts to help your child get a good night's sleep!

Do's

1. Get some sun or bright, natural light first thing in the morning: This helps to set the body's circadian rhythm or body clock which influences when we stay awake and fall asleep.

2. Be active during the day and unwind in the evenings: Encourage your children to engage in fun activities, exercise or sports during the day. This helps to get deeper sleep. Reserve evenings to do more relaxing activities, unwind, and relax.

3. Make your sleep environment comfortable and conducive to sleep: Sleep in a comfortable bed and cool, dark, and quiet room.

• Temperature: Our body temperature needs to drop by about a degree for us to fall asleep and so we generally sleep better in a cooler environment.
• Light: Light can disrupt our circadian rhythm so use black out blinds or keep the room dark. If your child is scared of the dark, then you can keep a small night light.
• Noise: You also want the room to be quiet so that nothing wakes your child up. If there is too much noise from outside then you can use a white noise machine.
• Bedding: Comfortable bedding is a must, so invest in a comfortable mattress, bedsheets, and pillows.

3. Stick to a consistent sleep routine: Set up the same bed times and wake up times every day and try to stick to these times as much as possible (including the weekends). It may be tricky to encourage children to do this initially, especially if they are used to staying up later and sleeping in during the weekends, but stay consistent. You can use praise and rewards to encourage this new habit.

4. Do relaxing activities before bedtime: If your child has a tendency to worry then it might help to include a mindfulness activity, deep breathing exercises, stretching, progressive muscle relaxation, or journaling to help manage those worries and help relax.

5. Have a daily bedtime routine: A bedtime routine should take about 15 to 30 minutes and include a set of activities that your child does right before bedtime. Make sure that the steps for your child's bedtime routine are done in the same order every night. These steps repeated in the same way every night will act as environmental cues and signal to the brain that they are getting ready to sleep and thus will start to feel sleepy. Here is an example of a bedtime routine:

• Change into pajamas
• Brush teeth & wash face
• Get a favorite teddy (security toy/blanket)
• Read a short story with parents/ caregiver
• Practice a mindfulness activity
• Jump into bed
• Get bedtime hugs and kisses & say goodnight
• Parents turn off the lights, and then it's time to sleep 😴

6. Use your bed only for sleep: This helps build a link between your brain and body so that the bed becomes a cue to sleep as well. This also means to not do any other activities in bed especially like watching TV, playing video games, reading, doing homework, etc. If your child doesn't fall asleep in 30 minutes then have them get out of bed and do a quiet or relaxing activity till they feel sleepy again. Then jump into bed again (yes, this tip is based on classical conditioning!).

7. Keep nighttime checks short and sweet: If your child calls for you at night, briefly provide reassurance that they are safe and cared for. We want them to learn how to self-soothe at night, so you may also consider waiting to see if they do this themselves before checking in.

8. Use a security object like a soft toy or a blanket: Security objects can help children feel safe as they transition to sleeping independently.

Dont's

1. Avoid watching screens at least an hour before bedtime: This includes TV, phones, video games, iPads, or any other electronics. This recommendation is usually the hardest for children, teens, and (let's be honest) for all of us to do! But, the light from screens suppresses melatonin (the hormone in our brain that makes us sleepy) and keeps us awake. This is why we can binge-watch Netflix late at night and not feel sleepy!
2. Avoid heavy meals (dinner or snacks) or a lot of liquids right before bedtime: Light snacks are OK, but avoid heavy meals as this can increase the time it takes to fall asleep, worsen digestive health, and increase the risk for obesity. Reduce liquid intake to prevent frequent voiding at night.
3. Avoid caffeine for 6 hours before bedtime: Caffeine is a stimulant and can keep you awake. Many drinks have caffeine, like soda, tea, coffee, and energy drinks. Even some de-caffeinated drinks may have tiny amounts of caffeine.
4. Avoid naps after 3 p.m.: For older children who no longer need naps, avoid naps after 3 p.m. If absolutely needed, only take short naps (30 to 40 minutes) during the day. Napping for longer durations can recharge our sleep battery. So, at bedtime, your child will no longer feel as sleepy.
5. Avoid intense exercising before bedtime: While exercising during the day can help deepen sleep and improve sleep quality, exercising closer to bedtime can disrupt our body clock as our body prepares for rest and sleep.
6. Avoid co-sleeping with pets: Pets might frequently move around, jump on or off the bed, and interrupt your child's sleep.
7. Avoid watching scary movies, violence, or horror before bedtime: For children who may be afraid of monsters, ghosts, and such, it's best to avoid media that can remind them of their fears before bedtime.

While you've probably heard of the term sleep hygiene before, people often confuse this with behavioral sleep medicine or treatment for sleep problems. Sleep hygiene focuses on building healthy daily habits that improve sleep. If your child has a sleep disorder (e.g., insomnia), then sleep hygiene alone won't work. In this case, you should see a sleep doctor. This could be a neurologist (M.D.) or a psychologist (Psy.D. or Ph.D.) who specializes in sleep medicine. Note that only a neurologist (M.D.) can prescribe medication.