How Much Sleep Do Children Need?
The National Sleep Foundation has established guidelines for daily sleep—you can find it here. Its 2014 survey of sleep habits found that the majority of children in the U.S. don’t get enough sleep (neither do their parents). (4) Stanford University’s Children’s Health Sleep Center reports that teen sleep deprivation is an epidemic, with 87% not getting enough. (5)
The solution is simple: help your child get enough sleep.
Anything that interferes with a child’s sleep should be avoided.
These include:
- Over-booked schedules that don’t give children enough time to take care of their responsibilities (chores, homework) and time for rest and free play. (6)
- Over-stimulation from electronic devices are known to disrupt children’s sleep; strictly limiting (or removing) access to smart phones, computers, tablets, television, and the like will help children accept being tired so they’ll go to sleep. (7)
- An environment that’s not conducive to sleep.
Reversing Child Sleep Deprivation
You can help your child go to sleep by:
- Setting a bedtime and sticking to it (8)
- Developing a bedtime routine so children have a chance to wind down and go to sleep
- Wstablishing home quiet hours and ensure your child’s bedroom is comfortable and welcoming
- Trying a warm bath before bed; add soothing essential oils to bath water to help your child relax
- Supervising what and when your children eat before bed
- Encouraging children to sleep when they’re tired
- Don’t allow pets to sleep with your children
- Using sound (e.g., white noise) to promote falling asleep
- Keeping electronics out of the child’s bedroom
- Leading by example (sleep is important for adults, too!).
Now that we know there’s much more at stake for our children than being cranky in the morning, it becomes compulsory for parents to make sure they get enough quality sleep on a regular basis. They’ll feel and behave better, perform better at school, and will be less at risk for future serious illness.