melatonin

August 23, 2021

Back to school sleep tips

How to get your child’s sleep back on track after the summer holiday break

Over the summer break 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 tips ready to help so your child is all prepared for their 1st day back at school.

Reset your child’s sleep

For your primary school aged child:

At least a week before the new school term, start to put your child to bed earlier by 15 minutes every day.

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.
Repeat this pattern until you reach the time that is right for your child’s school schedule.
Your child should be falling asleep within 15 – 20 minutes.

Help them to feel sleepy:

An hour before bed we recommend:

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, a snack 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. They will start to prepare for it as soon as you start the steps.
An hour before sleep set aside 15 minutes of Talking Time. Give your child your 1:1 attention so they can chat to you about their day or any concerns or thoughts they might have. This will help to avoid discussing these issues just before your child goes to sleep.
Then start go for a warm relaxing bath lasting about 10 minutes; a pre-bed bath should not be a play time.
Go straight from the bathroom into the bedroom – do not go back into the living area.
Pre-dim the lights in the bedroom – this will help with the production of melatonin.
Have 1 or 2 stories.
Avoid any confrontations or discussions at bedtime.
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 means an early morning start again for many families. Morning is when we reset our body clock so it’s very important children are woken at the same time each day. A big dose of light will help to get your child up and running, so open the curtains straightaway. Light suppresses melatonin – the hormone that makes us feel sleepy.

For your secondary school aged young person:

Due to a natural shift in the production time of melatonin, young people 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 start 2 weeks before their school start date.

More more details on teen sleep download our free fact sheet.

March 5, 2021

How to manage your child’s sleep when the clocks go forward

What impact will the clock change have on your child’s sleep and is there anything you can do in advance to help them move seamlessly into the new time zone?

The clocks spring forward on Sunday 28th March 2021 and at last we enter into British Summer. We say goodbye to the cold darker winter evenings and welcome the longer brighter days we have ahead of us. Losing an hour of sleep may not impact an adults sleep too much, but it can play havoc your child’s sleep patterns.

Your child may not seem ready for sleep at their normal bedtime and may struggle to fall asleep, laying awake restless and unhappy in bed. Then when the morning comes it’s hard to get them up and they seem groggy and not ready to start the day.

Our top tips to avoid bedtime battles and morning meltdowns when the clocks change…

For about 2 weeks leading up to the clock change start putting your child to bed 10 to 15 minutes earlier every 3 to 4 days.
You will need to move the start of their bedtime routine, nap times and just as importantly meal times too.
The aim is to advance your child’s body clock so they are able to fall asleep an hour earlier than before.
Just as importantly you will need to wake them up 10 to 15 minutes earlier in the morning.
In the run up to bed give your little one clear consistent signals that bedtime is coming with a focused winding down routine.
Try including a short calming bath, a quiet story, a cuddle and then into their cot or bed.
Keep the bedroom darkened to help promote the sleep hormone melatonin and just use a small nightlight to help prepare your child for bed.
As soon as you can in the morning get the family into daylight, this will help suppress the sleep hormone and wake your little one up.
If your child is already an early riser and 5.00 am is their usual wake up time, there is nothing you need to do to prepare other than enjoy a lie-in.

Then you can embrace the lighter mornings and longer days!

Written by Mandy Gurney Founder of Millpond Children’s Sleep Clinic

June 7, 2017

How dark should my baby’s bedroom be?

Many parents ask us how dark should their baby’s bedroom be. Darkness is essential to our sleep and we know from numerous studies that even a small amount of bright light in the evening can profoundly effect our ability to go to sleep. The hormone, melatonin, is produced in response to darkness sending a signal to our brain that it is time for us to sleep and it initiates the body’s processes to prepare us for this essential activity.

But we now rely heavily on artificial lighting enabling us to spend more time in the evenings doing chores, reading, relaxing or working. Where would we be without it….well getting more sleep for sure!

So how can we ensure the lighting we use at this time does not impact on our sleep…

Use dim amber or orange coloured lights for night lights. This type of lighting has the least ability to suppress melatonin. Think of how our ancestors would have sat around the flickering glow of a candle in the evening.
Avoid looking at screens of any kind one or even two hours before bed. The blue light from screens has been proven to suppress melatonin.
Dim the lighting in your bathroom, using a mirror light or fitting a dimmer switch. Modern bathrooms are very bright making your body think it’s the middle of the day.
Your baby’s bedroom does not need to be pitch black. Use a small glow plug-in night light in your baby’s bedroom. It should be just enough light to see your baby by. Leave it on all night so the lighting levels remains constant.
Ensure you have lots of bright light during the day. This will boost your ability to sleep at night, as well as your mood and alertness during daylight.

Millpond Children’s Sleep Clinic – how dark should your baby’s bedroom be?

Image: Levi Gruber