What To Do When Kids Won't Sleep
When your kids have trouble sleeping, it not only can disrupt your own sleep as a parent but also lead to moodiness, clumsiness, and other issues caused by poor sleep. Here are some basic steps to take that should help your child to sleep more soundly.
Examine Your Routine
Bedtime routines are one of the most integral factors in successful sleep for children. You don't have to know how to fold a fitted sheet to know how to have a good bedtime routine. Bedtime routines can be very simple. An effective routine may be as simple as brushing teeth, using the toilet, putting on clean pajamas, and getting tucked into bed. You can always add things such as reading a story, rubbing your child's feet or back, or having a small cup of water. Just make sure to keep activities slow and mellow in order to promote a relaxed brainwave state in your child. It is key to consistently do the same routine every night before bed. A bedtime routine builds a child's feeling of safety and comfort, allowing him to peacefully slip off into slumber. If a child feels unsafe, uncared for, or uncomfortable, sleep will be much harder to achieve.
Add More Outside Time
Exposure to sunlight during the day is essential for your body to form a healthy sleep-regulating system. Likewise, exposure to light at night can be very disruptive to your body's sleep cycle. If your child has trouble sleeping, try getting him outside more. You can have picnic lunches or dinners on the porch or in the yard. Instead of reading a book inside, you can set up comfy seating outdoors and encourage reading outside. Maybe even set up a table and chairs outside if you don't already have that, and play a board game outside, or do some art projects. There are many activities that can be done outside just as easily indoors when you create a space everyone enjoys when weather permits.
Limit Electronics
Screens and the stimulating games, movies and other media they display are not conducive to entering the relaxed brainwave state necessary to sleep. Processing the stimulation produced by screen media may lead to excessive wakefulness and bad dreams that lead to disrupted sleep for your child. So, limiting or even eliminating screen time in the evening may be a good thing to try if your child is having difficulty sleeping. It may be difficult at first because such media and devices can be somewhat addictive. Rather than simply eliminating the electronics, try adding healthier evening activities that your child enjoys, such as playing games, working on puzzles, mazes, sudoku, word searches, coloring, modeling clay, drawing, reading books together or alone, and other low tempo activities.
Get More Exercise
Exercise improves sleep quality in children. Children who engage in physical activity fall asleep more quickly and have better quality and longer sleep than sedentary children. If your child is having trouble sleeping, adding more physical activity to their day may be a good solution. Try finding physical activities your child enjoys and can do every day. For younger children, playing chase or tag with parents, siblings, or friends is a great way to get them running. Search online for free exercise videos for kids. Whether it's learning to jump rope, practice martial arts, or do yoga, there's bound to be something that appeals to your child.
When it comes to your child's health, and probably your own too, their sleep is very important. Be willing to try healthy ways to regulate your child's sleep cycle so that you can all get the best sleep possible.
Examine Your Routine
Bedtime routines are one of the most integral factors in successful sleep for children. You don't have to know how to fold a fitted sheet to know how to have a good bedtime routine. Bedtime routines can be very simple. An effective routine may be as simple as brushing teeth, using the toilet, putting on clean pajamas, and getting tucked into bed. You can always add things such as reading a story, rubbing your child's feet or back, or having a small cup of water. Just make sure to keep activities slow and mellow in order to promote a relaxed brainwave state in your child. It is key to consistently do the same routine every night before bed. A bedtime routine builds a child's feeling of safety and comfort, allowing him to peacefully slip off into slumber. If a child feels unsafe, uncared for, or uncomfortable, sleep will be much harder to achieve.
Add More Outside Time
Exposure to sunlight during the day is essential for your body to form a healthy sleep-regulating system. Likewise, exposure to light at night can be very disruptive to your body's sleep cycle. If your child has trouble sleeping, try getting him outside more. You can have picnic lunches or dinners on the porch or in the yard. Instead of reading a book inside, you can set up comfy seating outdoors and encourage reading outside. Maybe even set up a table and chairs outside if you don't already have that, and play a board game outside, or do some art projects. There are many activities that can be done outside just as easily indoors when you create a space everyone enjoys when weather permits.
Limit Electronics
Screens and the stimulating games, movies and other media they display are not conducive to entering the relaxed brainwave state necessary to sleep. Processing the stimulation produced by screen media may lead to excessive wakefulness and bad dreams that lead to disrupted sleep for your child. So, limiting or even eliminating screen time in the evening may be a good thing to try if your child is having difficulty sleeping. It may be difficult at first because such media and devices can be somewhat addictive. Rather than simply eliminating the electronics, try adding healthier evening activities that your child enjoys, such as playing games, working on puzzles, mazes, sudoku, word searches, coloring, modeling clay, drawing, reading books together or alone, and other low tempo activities.
Get More Exercise
Exercise improves sleep quality in children. Children who engage in physical activity fall asleep more quickly and have better quality and longer sleep than sedentary children. If your child is having trouble sleeping, adding more physical activity to their day may be a good solution. Try finding physical activities your child enjoys and can do every day. For younger children, playing chase or tag with parents, siblings, or friends is a great way to get them running. Search online for free exercise videos for kids. Whether it's learning to jump rope, practice martial arts, or do yoga, there's bound to be something that appeals to your child.
When it comes to your child's health, and probably your own too, their sleep is very important. Be willing to try healthy ways to regulate your child's sleep cycle so that you can all get the best sleep possible.
