5 EXPERT TIPS TO RESTART YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL-TERM SLEEP ROUTINE
The flexibility and fun the holidays bring often means going to bed later and sleeping in, but how can parents feel back on track for the school run.
With schools usually starting around 8:30am, the holiday sleep routine of sleeping in until 9 or 10am is not going to work during term time.
Dr Lindsay Browning, psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert for And So To Bed shares her top tips on how to navigate your family’s sleep routines, making sure your little ones sleep schedules remain consistent, especially in situations of readjusting back into a steady routine.
5 back-to-school sleep tips
Make sure you have a pre-bedtime routine.
Having a pre-bedtime routine ensures that children know bedtime is coming. Doing the same things before bed in the same order can help prepare the brain and body for sleep. For children, this pre-bedtime routine may involve stopping screens an hour before bed, doing some more peaceful activity after that time such as reading a book or doing a jigsaw, taking a bath or shower, getting into pyjamas, having a glass of milk, brushing teeth and getting into bed.
Morning light exposure
When we get light exposure can help to move our circadian rhythm. If your children are used to waking up late and staying up late, then you can start helping them shift this earlier by getting outside in the morning to the park or even having breakfast in the garden. This bright early morning sunshine will help make it easier to wake up earlier and fall asleep earlier.
Gradually move bedtime and wake time earlier in the days before school restarts
It’s much easier to change bedtimes and wake times if you change them in small increments rather than a big change. For example, if your child has been used to going to bed at 10pm but they need to go to bed at 8pm then gradually move their bedtime earlier by 15 to 20 minute increments each day until you get to the correct time. When you move their bedtime earlier, also move their wake time earlier by the same amount, which will almost certainly need you to set an alarm so they don’t oversleep.
Limit screen time
If you are a parent of a younger child or teen, then you may have disabled parental controls on the tablets and phones during the summer holidays to allow them more time on screens. However, with school restarting, it might be a good idea to look at these controls and reinstate screen time limits on the number of hours spent on the device as well as stopping the device automatically in the evening. Too much screen time can be bad for sleep in a number of ways by keeping the brain to active as well as too much bright light exposure before bed. Why are you at it, make sure that night mode is enabled to automatically come on round about 6 or 7 pm each day on their devices to minimise bright blue light exposure from screens.
Make time to speak about any worries
Just before school, restarts, it is natural that your child may start to worry about what the new term may bring. Rather than these thoughts whirring through their mind at night, keeping them from being able to sleep, it’s a good idea to spend some time talking through their worries earlier in the day. It’s especially useful to do this somewhere other than the bedroom so that the child’s bedroom isn’t the place where they get used to worrying. You could discuss any concerns about going back to school over dinner, on the sofa between watching TV shows, or even better you could talk to them whilst going for a long walk in nature.
