If you have kids, you know how important it is that they get adequate sleep. Without it, they become cranky, irritable, and generally just harder to deal with. Because of this, it’s crucial that you’re able to find a way to ensure your children go to sleep and stay asleep the whole night through.
However, many children and parents find this very hard to accomplish. Whether due to bad habits or poor sleep quality, many children don’t get the sleep they need, and the whole family can suffer for it.
If you’ve been having a hard to ensuring your children wake up well rested in the morning, here are three ways to help your kids sleep better at night.
Create The Right Sleep Environment
As far as when your kids are in bed each night, you want to create the right sleep environment for them. Without such, it can be very hard for them to fall asleep, stay asleep, and get enough restful sleep.
According to Marissa Stapley Ponikowski, a contributor to Today’s Parent, you’ll want to do everything in your power to ensure that your child is comfortable both in the pajamas and in their bed. Make sure they’re wearing soft clothing, aren’t too hot to too cold when asleep, and that they have the proper pillow for their needs.
Additionally, you might also want to add some white noise to their room to help them avoid being startled by any noises throughout your house. And if they like to fall asleep with a nightlight, consider turning it off after they’ve fallen asleep.
Turn Off Screens Early
One thing that might be keeping your kids up or more wound up than they should be could be their exposure to screens throughout the day, especially in the last few hours before bed.
Dr. Karen Gill, a contributor to Healthline.com, shares that it’s ideal for your childrens’ sleep patterns to have no more screen time in the last two hours of the day. By doing this, you’ll help to regulate their melatonin levels by removing so much bright, blue light from around them as they’re trying to get settled for bed.
Reduce Stress During The Day
What happens during the day can have a big impact on your childrens’ ability to fall asleep and stay peacefully asleep each night. According to Naomi Shulman, a contributor to Real Simple, stress has been seen to be a factor in things like childhood sleepwalking or night terrors, which can be very disruptive to sleep.
To avoid these things, try to keep your child’s day as stress-free as you can.
If you’ve noticed that your children aren’t getting the sleep they should be, consider using the tips mentioned above to help this come more naturally to them.