How to get your child’s sleep back on track after the summer holidays.
Over the summer holidays you may have been more relaxed about what time your children go to bed and get up in the morning. But now as the new term approaches the challenge of getting everyone up and out in the morning by 8.00am, seems a little daunting!
Fear no more…..we have a great set of sleep tips ready to help so your child is all prepped for their 1st day back at school.
How reset you child’s sleep
If your child is at primary school:
A week before the new school term
- Start putting your child to bed 15 minutes earlier.
- If they are falling asleep 2 hours later then usual you can move bedtime earlier every day. However if it’s just an hour later you can shift bedtime every few days.
- At the same time wake them 15 minutes earlier every morning.
- To help suppress the sleep hormone melatonin get them into the light as soon as possible in the morning.
- You may want to offer an incentive to encourage your child to get up earlier such as a special breakfast.
- Repeat this pattern until you reach the time that is right for your child’s school schedule.
Help them to feel sleepy:
An hour before bed:
- Start thinking about your child’s bedtime 1 hour before you want them to be asleep.
- Put toys away and settle down for a cuddle and story on the sofa.
- ALL screens should be off 1 hour before sleep; this includes phones, tablets and computers as blue light can interfere with the production of melatonin.
- Lastly, in the hour before sleep don’t let your child have any caffeine or sugary food and drinks.
Their bedtime routine:
- Have a quiet and calm bedtime routine focused around the bedroom and bathroom area.
- Carry out the same series of steps every night so your child knows that sleep is coming.
- Then start go for a warm relaxing bath lasting about 10 minutes; a pre-bed bath should be more like a spa than a water-park.
- Go straight from the bathroom into the bedroom.
- Pre-dim the lights in the bedroom as this will help with the production of melatonin.
- Have 1 or 2 stories.
- Try to avoid any confrontations or discussions at this time of night as it could stimulate your child’s brain at bedtime and prevent them going to sleep.
- Say goodnight and leave the bedroom; your child should be asleep about 15 minutes later.
Reset your child’s morning clock:
- Being back at school usually means an early morning start again.
- Morning is when we reset our body clock so it’s very important to wake your child at the same time each day.
- A big dose of light will help them to get up and running, so open the curtains and let the light in.
- Make sure they’re awake, even if they don’t get up straight away.
If your child is at secondary school:
Two weeks before the new school term
- Due to a natural shift in the production time of melatonin, teenagers have a predisposition to go to bed later and stay up later.
- Over the holidays their body clock may have shifted later by 2 hours or more.
- The process of bringing their sleep pattern back in line with the school day will take longer.
- Follow the same steps as above but its best to start 2 weeks before their school start date.
- For more more details on teen sleep download our free fact sheet.
