4 Tips to Ensure Your Child Gets Proper & Adequate Sleep

Sleep is important whether you are just 2 or 20 or 80. It is the time when your body recovers and rebuilds. It also provides brain the rest it needs and process all the information. When it comes to your child, you cannot take their sleep for granted. You should take all the necessary steps to ensure that they are not only sleeping at the right time, but also getting more than enough sleep.

Follow these tips to ensure both these aspects of sleep are addressed in children.

1. Create a Bedtime Routine

Many parents find it difficult to put their children to sleep at night. They can be either hyperactive or show signs of irregular sleep patterns or sleep disorders in children. You can fight this by creating a bedtime routine that removes all the stress out of bedtime. When you create a routine involving specific steps, it builds structure and sleep associations in your child’s mind.

1. The bedtime ritual should begin 15 to 30 minutes before so that your child starts winding down
2. Turn off the TV, all the music, and dim the lights
3. Start talking softly and moving slowly

All these signs will send a signal to your child’s mind that it is time to go to sleep. Some of the related activities in the routine can include brushing teeth, relaxing bath, story time, putting on pajamas, and goodnight kisses. You can create a routine based on what works best with your child.

2. Reduce or Eliminate Screen Time 30 Minutes before Bedtime

The brain naturally starts producing hormones at nighttime that help everyone fall asleep. Darkness plays an important role in the release of these hormones. But getting exposed to smartphone, computer, or TV screens can put the brain in a tantrum and interferes with the release of these hormones. So it is important to completely avoid screens at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

Don't let your child use phones, TV, computer, or video games. Keep all such devices away.

3. Keep off Caffeine & Meals

Another important step is to avoid meals and caffeine at least 2 hours before your child goes to sleep.

1. Caffeine, it is well known, is a strong stimulant
2. Caffeine is not recommended for children of all age groups. It should always be avoided for children, especially before bedtime
3. Even if your child needs to enjoy a soft drink, it should be taken at least 3 hours before bedtime

Snacks can be taken before bedtime. It is best to give your child a healthy snack containing fruit or a warm glass of milk. You can check this link to learn more about ideal diet for better sleep.

4. Dim the Lights

It is healthy to sleep in darkness. According to latest research, keeping lights on during sleep, especially bright lights, can cause interference with hormone regulation. This affects not just your child’s sleep, but also the immune system’s functioning.

If your child is afraid of the dark, you can put night light in the hallway to provide them some comfort. Turn the light off once your child is asleep. Also make arrangements to prevent your child from getting directly exposed to sunlight in the morning. Many children can wake up before their sleep gets completed because of streaming sunlight early morning.

So make sure to follow these tips to ensure that your child gets all the sleep they need. As a parent it is important to realize that proper and adequate sleep is important for the overall growth and development of your child. Just like proper nutrition, you have to ensure that there should be no deficiency with it.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.