How much sleep does your child need?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Great Sleep, Happy Child
Have you heard of “sleep debt?”
If you have a teenager, you have almost certain seen sleep debt in action.
This is where someone is not getting the amount of sleep they need during the week, so they sleep a much longer time on the weekends, to “catch up.”
You thought your teen was just being lazy-but there is research that shows that if your child did not regularly pay their sleep debt, it could have lasting ill effects on their overall health.
What are the benefits to children to getting sleep?
Sleep is crucial for children’s physical and mental development.
We have all heard of rest and restore.
During sleep, the body restores and repairs itself, which is why it is so important when children are sick or injured that they sleep even more.
Here are the benefits of sleep:
Physical Health:
- Growth and Development: Sleep promotes the release of growth hormones essential for physical development.
- Immune System: Adequate sleep strengthens the immune system, helping children fight off infections and illnesses.
- Weight Management: Good sleep helps regulate hormones related to hunger, reducing the risk of obesity.
Cognitive Development:
- Memory and Learning: Sleep enhances memory consolidation, aiding in learning and retention of new information.
- Concentration and Attention: Well-rested children are better able to focus, pay attention, and perform tasks efficiently.
- Problem-Solving Skills: Adequate sleep improves cognitive functions like problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking.
Emotional Well-being:
- Mood Regulation: Quality sleep helps regulate emotions, reducing the risk of mood swings, irritability, and emotional outbursts.
- Mental Health: Consistent sleep patterns are linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression in children.
Performance and Achievement:
- Academic Success: Good sleep is associated with better academic performance, including higher grades and improved test scores.
- Extracurricular Activities: Well-rested children are more likely to excel in sports, arts, and other extracurricular activities due to enhanced physical and cognitive abilities.
What are the problems that occur if children do not get enough sleep?
Just like there are fabulous benefits to making sure your children get great sleep, there are also some problems that can occur if they do not sleep well, regularly.
Problems with lack of sleep:
- Behavioral Problems: Lack of sleep can result in irritability, moodiness, and difficulty in managing emotions, leading to behavior problems both at home and in school.
- Cognitive Impairment: Insufficient sleep can impair cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, hindering academic performance and learning.
- Physical Health Issues: Children who lack sleep are at a higher risk of obesity, weakened immune system, and other health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Developmental Delays: Sleep is crucial for a child’s growth and development. Inadequate sleep can impact physical growth, as well as neurological and emotional development.
- Mental Health Concerns: Chronic sleep deprivation in children can contribute to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, affecting their overall well-being.
- Impaired Learning: Sleep deprivation can impair a child’s ability to concentrate, retain information, and learn effectively, leading to academic struggles and poor performance in school.
- Increased Risk of Accidents: Tired children may have slower reaction times and impaired judgment, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries, especially when engaging in physical activities or operating machinery.
- Social Interaction Problems: Sleep-deprived children may find it challenging to engage with peers, communicate effectively, and maintain positive social relationships due to fatigue and irritability.
What are the RECOMMENDED SLEEP HOURS for children?
What are the
As parents, we recognize that our children need sleep.
The problem is we never know how much.
Some parents are comfortable with letting their 5 year olds stay up until 10:00 pm.
Other parents have a strict bedtime routine of 8:00 in bed each night.
In the end, it is helpful to have a guide of how much sleep your children actually need to benefit from each night.
Here are the recommended hours of sleep for different age groups:
* Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours per 24 hours
* Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours per 24 hours
* Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours per 24 hours
* Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours per night
* School-age children (6-13 years): 9-11 hours per night
* Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours per night
How do I establish a bedtime ritual?
Creating a consistent bedtime routine with key rituals is a key factor in the promotion of not only healthy sleep, but also of broad development and wellbeing in early childhood.
It’s important to establish a regular schedule for when it’s time for bed, what activities lead up to bedtime, and what happens right before sleep.
Having predictable rituals can help your child feel secure and prepare them for a good night’s rest.
Here are some tips and ideas for establishing consistent bedtime rituals:
Sequence:
Establish the same sequence of calming activities each night to help children transition from the busyness of the day to bedtime.
We all like to know what we can count on and what comes “next.”
Children thrive on consistency.
Comforting Activities:
Incorporate soothing activities into the bedtime ritual to help children transition to sleep time.
You can get creative and think about your child’s love language .
Touch-back rubs, cuddling
Affirmation-Play “I love you because” game, you each write a “love” note to each other for the following day
Quality Time- talk about the day, keep a gratitude journal together
Gifts-Get a subscription to a magazine of your child’s interest and read it together, give your chid a special photo book and each night they put one photo in the book with decorations and captions
Acts of Service: Help pick up before bed, read a book together-alternating chapters
"LOVE NOTES" FOR YOU TO SEND TO YOUR CHILD
Sometimes do you forget to say the "mushy" stuff to your kids?
In this list I share:
- Easy “cut out” format
- Each day has a fun graphic with it
- All of the encouragements are different
- You can “stash” these notes in different places throughout the week, month or year for a lovely surprise.
- Build your relationship.
Limit Screen Time:
Avoid screens at least an hour before bedtime as the blue light can interfere with the production of sleep hormones.
Encourage relaxing activities instead.
Set the Mood:
Dimming the lights in the hour leading up to bedtime can help signal to the body that it’s time to start winding down and preparing for sleep.
It also lets the kids know, the one hour timer has started!
Get all Senses on Board:
In addition to the dark and cool, what does your child like to hear? Smell?
Relaxing scents include: Lavender, Roman chamomile, and Cedarwood.
I like to listen to Spotify: Miracle Tones 432 Hz Deep Sleep
I am not a white noise fan, but this may be perfect for your child.
Bedtime Snack:
I am mixed on this one.
I am of the mind that American Society is overweight and because of this we have serious health issues.
I do not think that eating right before bed is a great idea.
However, personally, I cannot sleep if I am hungry.
Hmmm-a dilemma!
Make sure your child eats a full dinner.
If they are hungry before bed, offer a warm glass of milk-my boys loved this with a little vanilla and almond extract in it, or a glass of chamomile tea.
My boys did not like chamomile tea, but loved “Mint Medly” and they would drink this before bed.
These help the eyelids start to droop without extra “stuff” the body has to work on digesting in the night instead of setting to repairing.
Mindfulness or Meditation:
These are so big with kids-everyone is recommending that you have your child do mindfulness activities.
I cannot even imagine meditation for kids-I can’t get this one.
Some great mindfulness techniques before bed include:
Five Finger Breathing
Square Breathing
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Mindful Coloring
This is totally my speed!
Listen to some relaxing music, grab a mindful coloring book, and spend 15-20 minutes each night winding down with creativity and color.
Guided Visualization
You, as a parent, can make these up and guide your child or…
There are a ton on YouTube.
I had fun looking at them all.
There were two I particularly liked: SpaceShip to the Moon and The Clever Fox, both are created by New Horizon Holistic Center.
The Necessaries:
Some people use chore charts or graphs to help with this but these are important to the bedtime ritual.
Brush teeth
Bathe or wash face
Possibly prepare for the following day
Finish any nighttime pet needs (our dog does a last “potty” and treat at night)
Put on jammies
Connection Time:
When couples get together and the lights are dimmed, it signifies romance and connection.
Every night, when the lights go down, your children can look forward to this time.
The dimming of the lights can signify that you are putting your chores, work, distractions etc away and are spending quality time with the kids.
It is time to celebrate the end of one day and look forward to the next.
How do I encouraging healthy sleep habits?
Encouraging healthy sleep habits is crucial for ensuring that your child gets the rest they need.
Some tips for promoting healthy sleep habits include:
1. Create a relaxing bedtime routine, which we just covered.
You can also establish your own activity/tradition: when my sister and I stayed at our grandparents home we never really interacted with our grandfather; he was rather stern and removed.
Part of our routine at their house was, after bath, we would sneak up on Gpa (like he did not know), steal his slippers, and hide them in the house.
He would then come look for them.
This made us feel connected to Gpa each night and we knew it was the last activity of the night before Gma took us to bed for a story.
2. Limiting screen time before bed:
The blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with your child’s ability to fall asleep.
*If you want more information on screens, I did an entire article on this.
3. Make sure the bedroom is dark and quiet:
Get the right temperature, cool is better
Black out shades are helpful
A white noise machine may be helpful
4. Encouraging physical activity during the day:
Your little one will sleep better if they are tuckered out!
5. Avoid stimulating activities before bed:
This is different for different people-for me, it is a really exciting book!
No TV right before bed, keep to the 1 hour screen time rule.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for children’s physical and mental development.
It is important to establish a regular sleep schedule, create a sleep-friendly environment, and encourage healthy sleep habits.
Many parents and children seem to battle the bedtime routine and it becomes a fight each night.
Remember to turn it into a time of quality connection and soothing ritual and your child will look forward to the ending of each day and a soft place to lay their head at night.