6 Ways to Support Restful Sleep for Your Family

When I tell people I’m a Pediatric Sleep Coach, I often get the response “Can you teach ME how to sleep better?”

My answer: “Yes, but you might not like what I tell you to do!”

That always gets a few laughs, mostly because it’s true and adults cognitively recognize that they don’t prioritize sleep as much as they probably should. But, I give the advice just the same because you never know what’s going to resonate with someone. It’s always possible that a simple tip surrounding sleep hygiene or nighttime routines will click and improve someone’s quality of sleep.

For clients, I tailor my guidance for each family’s own needs, routine, and lifestyle, but in general, here are the 6 most significant ways you can support restful sleep for the whole family!

Avoid screens before bed

This is the item that gets the most groans from adults. We love our screens, don’t we??

I know it’s hard, but the data is so clear that blue light suppresses the production of melatonin and makes it more difficult to fall asleep AND stay asleep. Children are especially vulnerable to the impact of electronics. I highly recommend avoiding computers, phones, and other blue light-emitting devices in the 1-2 hours leading up to bedtime. If it’s unavoidable (like for work or studying) invest activate the blue-light filter on your device, dim the display as much as possible, and invest in some blue light blocking glasses.

Turn the lights down in the house after dinner, play quiet music, and run an essential oil diffuser

Creating a chill-zone post-dinner is an easy and effective strategy to helping everyone get better sleep! If you have fluorescent and LED lights those can also emit blue light so aim to turn those lights off and create moodier lighting with electric candles, salt lamps, and dimmable lights. You can add some soft, soothing music and essential oils to your post-dinner wind-down as well.

Engage in calming activities after dinner to avoid overstimulation

Continuing with the theme of the post-dinner chill zone, aim to participate in calming activities prior to bedtime. You can do a puzzle as a family, color, play with silly putty, or sing songs. Some other ideas are to do a guided meditation together, practice deep breathing, and do some bedtime yoga! Reading as a family is always a top choice too!

Keep your bedtime routine consistent, predictable and SHORT

Prolonged bedtime routines only make your kiddos overtired and delay the inevitable. Not to mention, they delay you from finishing your nighttime activities and getting into bed at a reasonable hour yourself! A good bedtime routine is predictable and to the point and lasts 30 minutes or less! My preferred bedtime routine is: milk, change diaper/put on pull-up, put on jammies, brush teeth, read books, sing one last song and then it’s night night time! Whatever order works for your family keep it consistent so your kiddos know what to expect.

Help children focus at the end of the night with gratitude or prayer

Anxiety in children is becoming more common… especially in the wake of the pandemic. Helping your kids focus on the good each night can provide an opportunity for them to express their gratitude and reduce worries or fears before bed. Gratitude or prayer rituals are a wonderful way to create optimism and good health (physically and mentally) for the whole family!

Move your bodies outside

Fresh air and exercise do wonders for your circadian rhythm. Try getting outside for a walk or vigorous playtime close to the noon hour. Not only will this help your kiddos tucker themselves out for nap time but it will boost everyone’s immune system, reduce stress, and helps improves sleep overall.

The beauty of these additions to your routine is that they apply to any age!

And here’s my last bit of advice for today - don’t try to implement all of these things at once because that might be overwhelming for everyone. Instead, pick one or two to add to tonight’s routine and stick with those for a week. Next week, add one or two more. And in a few weeks you’ll begin to see how effective these simple strategies are for encouraging peaceful sleep for the whole family!

For more personalized support with sleep training and sleep schedules, drop us a line and we’ll schedule a time to chat!