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10 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Sleep
leep. How can a parent help a child sleep better? First, by knowing that sleep is one of the most significant contributors to your child’s physical and mental health. Sleep is important. As parents, the primary point of action we can take is to set up good sleep practices, including providing an adequate opportunity for sleep as well as an environment conducive to good sleep quality and safety.
being cannot be underestimated, and healthy sleep habits that help families across all cultures to support and encourage optimal sleep duration and timing are critical to achieving these goals.”
Liborio Parrino, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Parma University, Italy says, “Good sleep habits can cause good sleep quality. And studies have shown quality of sleep is even more important that quantity of sleep. Sleep practices help children associate certain activities, such as a bedtime routine, and environments (like the child’s bedroom) with sleep.”
1. Make sure your child gets enough sleep by setting an ageappropriate bedtime and waketime. Pediatric sleep physicians and researchers suggest a bedtime that’s preferably before 9:00pm. To know the appropriate number of hours per age, refer to the included table on the next page.
Judith Owens, MD, MPH, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and President of the International Pediatric Sleep Association (IPSA) adds, “The importance of sleep to children’s development, health and well-
To aid parents and caregivers in this pursuit, World Sleep Society created ten tips for healthy sleep hygiene in children. Is your child practicing these good sleep habits?
2. Keep a consistent bedtime and waketime on weekdays and weekends. As grating as it can be when your little one wakes up bright and early on a Saturday, research suggests changing sleep and wake times on weekends can interfere with natural
circadian rhythms in both children and adults. Sticking with the same sleep and waketime every day of the week will improve sleep health. 3. Establish a consistent bedtime routine and provide comfortable clothes in bed, including strong absorbing diapers for infants. Along with an established bedtime routine (think healthy snack, pajamas, stories in bed), it’s best to find a comfortable sleep temperature and make sure the child’s bedroom is well ventilated. Tip: Many thermostats can be set to automatically drop a few degrees at a scheduled time every night. 4. Encourage your child to fall asleep independently. As most parents of babies and toddlers can attest, this is easier said than done. But the more independently a child can fall asleep, the better (and earlier) his/her sleep health will improve.
10 Ways continued on page 8 7 | healthiersleepmag.com
