Back-to-School Sleep Tips for Children

Back-to-school season can be an exciting and overwhelming time for children. Along with new classes and activities, comes adjusting to earlier bedtimes and potentially hectic morning routines. To help make this transition smoother, here are a few tips to ensure your child gets the best possible sleep.

For children, regular, quality sleep helps support their overall health and provides other benefits including improved attention, academic performance, behavior, and mood.

These tips can set your child up for success with a healthy sleeping schedule:

Create a Schedule

Children benefit from a consistent, predictable sleep routine. Have your child go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends. Avoid scheduling naps and other activities too close to bedtime, as this can make it harder for them to fall asleep.

To help with your child’s bedtime routine, create a calming atmosphere in their bedroom. This could include dimming the lights, establishing good sleep hygiene habits, and avoiding screen exposure.

Create an Environment for Relaxation

Make your child’s bedroom cozy and comfortable. Choose calming colors and light blocking curtains to help signal to your child it is time to relax. You should also keep distractions such as noisy appliances and bright nightlights to a minimum.

In addition, you can provide your child with plush bedding and toys to cuddle up to. This can help your child feel more secure and enhance the quality of their sleep.

Another option is White Noise. This type of noise serves as a background sound, like a fan or a white noise machine, and can help mask any disruptive noises in the home.

Fueling for Sleep

What you feed your child before sleep can also affect their energy and restfulness; opt for light snacks that contain small amounts of complex carbohydrates and protein before bedtime.

For example, low-fat cheese and whole-grain crackers, or a few sliced apples with almond butter can provide satiation without spiking an energy level surge.

Tools to Make Bedtime Easier

• Utilize sleep apps or a sleep monitor to track sleep patterns and establish regular sleep times
• Understand the role of melatonin in the sleep-wake cycle
• Set a timer for the bedtime routine, so your child knows when they need to start and end getting ready for bed

Conclusion

Back-to-school is a time to ease back into a healthy and efficient schedule. Following these tips for a regular sleep schedule can help your child boost their performance in class and other activities, so they can start the school year strong.