So your little one is settling into school and the six weeks holidays may feel like a distant memory already.  You are back to the morning rush and the repeated requests for them to put their shoes on!  Personally, I love the routine that school creates and I honestly believe my children do too, however school requires a different energy to the school holidays.  Even if your school holidays were filled with trips to the park and long days out the energy required for school is just different.  I call it the ‘being good’ energy.  The focus and attention needed for school can leave your little one feeling exhausted.

A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP

The thing is when our children are getting enough sleep night after night their ability to learn and concentrate is so much greater.  Sleep is linked to improved alertness and focus, improved memory and problem solving.  It also supports growth, regulates mood and fuels their brain development!  All key factors when they are at school.  It also improves their health and immunity.  My children did not miss a single day in the last school year due to illness, but they get a good nights sleep every night.

OVERTIREDNESS

Believe it or not overtiredness is often the culprit behind sleep difficulties.  An overtired child will struggle to settle to sleep, will wake more often in the night and even wake earlier than their well-rested peers.  Once overtiredness sets in it can be a struggle to undo as the overtiredness can keep itself going with early rising meaning children continue to be under their nightly sleep quota.

So how do you know how much sleep is appropriate for your child.  At 4 years old they should be getting around 11.5hrs of sleep every night.  That means bedtime must sit around 7-7.30pm for them to get enough sleep.  The thing is when we restrict sleep, we stop ourselves from having so much REM sleep or dream sleep as this sleep happens more towards the end of the night.  REM sleep is a very important part of our sleep.  In this ‘phase’ of sleep our bodies and brains perform a natural detox.  Restricting our sleep means this detox cannot be performed and as you can imagine starts to have a negative effect on us.

The other thing to consider if how many activities your little one does outside of school.  If you pack their schedule too much, they may struggle to keep up the pace.  We just don’t want them to become too exhausted as this will ultimately work against you.

SO, WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP OUR LITTLE ONES?

Firstly, have a good bedtime routine and give your child plenty of time to wind down if they have had a busy day.  Try to avoid screen time close to bedtime too as the blue light from screens can suppress their melatonin production which is their sleepy hormone.  Melatonin is high around 7-7.30pm so we want them to be in their rooms around this time to be able to make the most of this.  When this is missed their body can sometimes produce a stress hormone called cortisol as it believes that they need to stay awake and not drift off to sleep.  Their body gets flooded with adrenaline and then it is really hard for them to settle to sleep and is why they appear wired so late in the evening.  By getting your children into their sleep space earlier and making it a calm and relaxing space you should avoid this happening.

For younger children they may benefit from an early night once or twice a week.  Bringing bedtime forward allows them some additional rest. You can actually bring bedtime forward by up to an hour.  Families worry that this will mean their little one will wake extra early but in actual fact the opposite will happen. Early nights mean we are helping to prevent overtiredness which can be the leading cause of early rising.

Setting up good sleep habits and being consistent at bedtime will help you to avoid bedtime battles and leave you with a child who is settling to sleep more quickly and getting a full and restorative sleep.

Afterall when your little one is sleeping well you are too!

For more information on how much sleep your child needs for their age download my free sleep needs chart.