Does the child have trouble sleeping at night? These 6 tips for sleeping well can help you

Does your child find it difficult to start sleeping at night, or does he often wake up in the middle of the night and find it difficult to go back to sleep again? If the child has trouble sleeping at night, he will easily get tired and fall asleep during class. As a result, he will miss a lot of important information about his subject. Lack of sleep has long been linked to serious health problems for future children, from obesity to diabetes to heart disease. If you don't want your little one to deal with the negative consequences above, start teaching him a deep sleep technique called sleep hygiene. What are the guidelines for sleep hygiene for children? The following is the review.

A sleep hygienic guide if your child has trouble sleeping at night

Sleep hygiene is a clean sleep pattern. The meaning of "clean sleep" here is not to go to sleep in a clean, fresh body after bathing and brushing your teeth, but rather to adopt healthier sleep habits to clean up all kinds of disorders that usually make you sleep deprived or sleep poorly.

This healthy sleep pattern helps build better sleep habits and makes you more disciplined and consistent in living it, to help fix messy sleep hours and overcome sleep disorders such as insomnia. Gradually, sleep hygiene helps reduce the kinds of negative consequences of lack of sleep.

What are sleep hygiene guidelines like if your child has trouble sleeping at night?

1. Consistently go to bed and wake up at the same time

A schedule for going to and getting out of bed on time is one of the most important first steps if you want your child to sleep better. If he is used to sleeping regularly, his body will also get used to it. As much as possible schedule time to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even though the day off.

However, first adjust it to the ideal night's sleep duration for children. The average primary school age child needs about 9-11 hours of sleep a day. So for example a child needs to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, then you should make sure the child is ready to sleep and is in bed at 8pm (+/- 20 minutes). Avoid sleeping that is too late.

By adhering to a regular sleep schedule every day, the child's body becomes lighter, warmer, and the hormone cortisol is also released more regularly, giving him more energy and lasting longer to do activities.

2. Limit nap time

Children need naps to help meet their sleep needs in a day. However, you have to be careful in managing the length of time, because if the child takes a nap over time he will feel more refreshed at night and eventually have trouble sleeping.

Limit naps for children to a maximum of 30 minutes, and do them before 3 p.m. Even if it's only for a short time, taking a nap can help improve your child's mood, focus and energy.

3. Create a special ritual before the child sleeps

Take the time to prepare for bed for 90 minutes before bedtime. For example, if you know your child should go to bed by 8 p.m., stop any kind of stressful physical and mental activity like sports or doing schoolwork at 6 p.m. - the sooner the better, if possible.

Use this free time for children to take a warm bath / bath, drink milk, brush their teeth, or for you to read bedtime stories. A bedtime routine can remind your child that it is time to go to bed soon.

Taking a warm bath a few hours before bedtime can raise body temperature, causing the child to feel sleepy when the temperature drops back down. Research shows that drowsiness is associated with lower body temperature.

Also use the remaining time available for you to prepare everything your children need the next day, including uniforms and school bags and supplies to avoid stress due to being overwhelmed in the morning.

4. Make the bedroom just for sleeping

Tell your child that the bed is only for sleeping. Do not do any other activity in bed other than sleeping. Avoid activities that can make children even more enthusiastic before bed, for example playing and watching TV.

5. Create a comfortable room atmosphere

Try not to get your child used to using the bedroom for other things than sleeping, for example to play or do homework. Gradually, the child's body becomes accustomed to connecting the bedroom with rest periods.

Keep computers, cell phones, TVs, and other electronic devices away from a child's bedroom. The bright rays of electronic devices work to mimic the natural light properties of the sun. As a result, the body's biological clock perceives this light as a signal that it is still morning, and therefore the production of melatonin (the sleep-inducing hormone) is disrupted.

Make the child's bedroom an ideal place to sleep. A comfortable, dark, quiet, and cool room atmosphere can help children sleep better. The ideal room temperature for a restful sleep is around 20-22 ° C.

Give your child a blanket and his favorite doll near the bed to make him feel comfortable. Your hug can also make him feel safe and calm.

6. Limit consumption of food and drinks before bed

Avoid eating large portions before bed. Eating heavy meals, fatty or fried foods, spicy dishes, citrus fruits, and carbonated drinks too close to bedtime can trigger indigestion for most people, especially children.

Lying down after eating can cause stomach acid to rise back up into the throat, causing stomach upset and a hot throat which makes it easy for children to wake up in the middle of the night.

Also avoid drinks or foods that contain caffeine such as soda, chocolate, tea, and coffee, especially near bedtime. The stimulant effects of caffeine can last for several hours even when consumed 3 hours before bedtime. In addition to making it difficult for children to sleep at night, caffeine also makes them often wake up in the middle of the night because they are restless or urinating back and forth.

If the child still can't sleep …

If your child is still not sleeping well, you can do something that makes him sleepy, such as reading a story book, which may seem boring. He will return to bed when he is sleepy. If he still hasn't fallen asleep in 20-30 minutes, you can repeat it.

Another way to help a child who has trouble sleeping at night is to teach him deep breathing techniques while imagining a pleasant serene scene, such as being in the mountains or by the beach. This can help the child relax.