Sleep hygiene tips for kids
Aly Bolton, COTA
Every parent wants their child to sleep well consistently. These sleep hygiene tips for kids can help them improve their sleep over time and improve their overall bedtime routines.
“Without enough sleep, we all become tall two year olds.” – JoJo Jensen
Sleep Hygiene Tips for Kids:
There is a wealth of knowledge about getting your child to sleep floating around out there. The sheer amount of Instagram courses, blogs, books, sleep consultants, and parenting magazines can be overwhelming. For something that only as recently as the 1920's began to be considered a truly worthwhile area of study, there is now an obvious recognition of the extraordinary importance of sleep, and for good reason. An appropriate amount of good quality sleep is critical for our ability to think clearly, solidify and access our memories, manage our emotions, and heal our bodies. It’s no wonder that sleep is one of the most important “occupations” (ways we occupy our time) that can be addressed by occupational therapy. Fairly incredible for something that doesn't require us to lift a finger.
However, though the act of sleeping itself may be easy, sometimes getting there (and staying there) can be hard, both for us and our kids. Let's break down a few pieces of information and tips that can help us nudge them a little closer to dreamland.
Please keep in mind every family and every child is different, so take what is helpful and leave what isn't. The goal is function, and there are no "correct" answers when it comes to what works for your family!
Give Consistent Sleep Associations:
Kids differ from adults in many ways (how many meals in a row they can enjoy chicken nuggets, the amount of ways they can play with an empty cardboard box, and the intensity with which they hate having their nose wiped, for example), but one of the most interesting and important is in the way they sleep.
Kids have shorter sleep cycles than adults and frequently wake for just a brief period of consciousness during the night. To soothe themselves back to sleep, they use whatever skills they’ve learned and/or look for the things they used to initially go to sleep. Those things can be functional (a specific blanket or stuffed animal, a nightlight, white noise) or perhaps less so (white noise that turns off after 20 minutes, a parent laying right next to them). We want to give them things they associate with sleep that are functional for them to have consistently through the night.
Independent Sleep Skills:
If your child is struggling with lots of night wakings, giving them opportunities to learn the skills they need to fall asleep independently will help them do the same thing when they wake in the night. Both kids and adults wake briefly during the night but, like we talked about above, quickly put themselves back to sleep by reestablishing associations used at bedtime. So if your child needs a parent present to fall asleep at bedtime, they might need a parent to help them fall back asleep in the middle of the night.
Bedtime Routine:
Having a consistent, doable bedtime routine (the same things, in the same order, every night, about thirty minutes long or less) will set your kiddo up for success.
Heavy Work:
Promote getting some "heavy work" in during the day. This type of input involves activities that push/pull against the body and is highly regulating. There are some wonderful posts here that give examples of activities that provide this input.
Calorie Packing:
If appropriate, pack that last meal before bed full of complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. This is the longest stretch we go without eating, and we want to avoid a middle-of-the-night snack wakeup.
These are some general guidelines that can help you understand and optimize your child's sleep. More complex barriers to a good night's sleep might require some more creative tactics - for example, if your child was struggling to sleep due to a need for sensory input, an occupational therapist might recommend sensory compression sheets, weighted blankets, and/or a personalized sensory program.
