SLEEP TIPS
Simple to follow sleep tips to follow if your child is having difficulty sleeping or the bedtime routine isn't working.
BECAUSE SLEEP IS IMPORTANT!
Children spend half of their lives asleep. Sleep is as important to children as adequate nutrition. Sleep disorders are common in childhood affecting 25% of children at some point. Disturbance or restriction of sleep impairs learning, mood, behaviour and health.
Here we provide some simple sleep tips to follow. If you think you need help with sleep please get in touch today.
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GET STARTED WITH THESE SIMPLE SLEEP TIPS
Here are some simple tips we think can make all the difference at bed time every day. Taken together they can support a more regular bedtime routine.
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Easy to follow, the secret is being consistent.
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Make sure that the child’s room is quiet and dark. Curtains with blackout lining or a black out blind will help make the room darker
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Turn off TV’s and electrical items. If very distracting think about removing them from the room or putting away at night
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Make sure toys are hidden, covered or tidied away
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Try to wake the child at a regular time each morning so that they keep to their circadian rhythm
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Make sure that the bedtime for the child is age appropriate
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Visual timetables can help children with special needs understand the routine by showing what is going to happen next
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Keep room temperature to a comfortable level. Ideally the temperature should be between 16-20 degrees Celsius. A room thermometer will help to ensure that this can be monitored
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Keep noise in the house to a minimum. Loud TV’s and / or music from other rooms can be distracting
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Make sure that the child does not go to bed hungry. A biscuit or small snack shortly before bedtime may be useful
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Avoid cola drinks, chocolate, tea and coffee before bedtime as these will contain additives and caffeine which prevent the onset of sleep. Try warm milk instead
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Help the child learn to fall asleep alone in their bed without the need for an adult to be present
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Avoid activities which stimulate in the hour leading up to bedtime such as computer games or running and chasing. Try to encourage quieter activities such as colouring or jigsaws
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AND FINALLY...
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Do not let your child have long naps in the late afternoon. If the child needs to take a nap try to schedule it for earlier in the afternoon.
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Our internal body clock governs our daily or circadian rhythm - telling us when to wake up and when to feel sleepy. Circadian comes from the Latin circa, meaning about and dies, meaning day.
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The BBC website has a simple test you can take. This test will produce a chart showing your natural sleeping and waking pattern over a 24 hour period.
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If you're having problems sleeping it could be your natural body clock is at odds with your routine.
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SLEEP DEPRIVATION
None of us like to feel tired, and fatigue can certainly make you grumpy, irritable and unable to function properly. Here are some of the symptoms of SLEEP DEPRIVATION:
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Chronic tiredness can increase vulnerability to depression
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Accentuate other mood problems such as anxiety
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Sleep deprivation can also affect your performance by reducing cognitive ability - your ability to think and use your brain
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Combined with drowsiness, this can greatly increase the risk of accidents because you're less able or quick at thinking your way fast out of a dangerous problem
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Mental arithmetic and logical reasoning can slow right down
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Memory is also affected by sleep deprivation, with significantly reduced immediate recall, although information acquired before sleep deprivation is normal
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Reduced ability to do simple or monotonous tasks
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Attention and concentration can drag a tired brain into action. However, certain aspects of these complex tasks are affected, particularly the ability to think laterally
AND FINALLY:
You should seek the opinion of a doctor if you have concerns about sleep deprivation.
Need Help With Sleep? Get in Touch.
If you have any questions about the sleep support or 2SLEEP we would be very happy to answer them.
We can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: 2sleep@2sleep.org
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Phone or text: 07914 308227