What Science Says About Getting Your Kid To Sleep

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When you become a parent, your place on the priority list starts falling, and rightly so. You have a gorgeous responsibility to create the best life for your offspring, and a huge part of that is to do with their health. It is encouraging them to have healthy eating habits, to have great hygiene, to use their imaginations, overcome their fears and, most importantly of all, get a great night’s sleep. After all, if your child doesn’t sleep well, you don’t sleep well, and we can’t be having that because the role of a mom is so ubiquitous you need all the winks you can get.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some amazing pointers compiled by a group of doctors and researchers and sleep specialists that should help your little one(s) get a super-solid sleep from this day forward:

1. Eat Earlier

We know how hard this can be, especially with people working later and lives being busier, but you should try as hard as you can to eat your suppers earlier, and nothing too big too close to bedtime, and definitely don’t give them anything that’s been threatened with caffeine in the four hours leading up to sleepy time.

2. Stimulation Is A No Go

We live in a world where technology rules the roost. Televisions have one-million channels tuned into them, phones have games and videos and just about everything is made to get the brain active. That’s why you need to cull all stimulation after dinner and before bed.

3. Five Minute Warning

This is one of those little tricks that has a huge influence. Saying something like, “hey, sweetie, do you want to go to bed now or in five minutes,” not only gives them a choice, it lets them know it’s time to start getting ready for bed, even if it’s subconsciously. Just make sure you only do this once otherwise it won’t work.

4. Comfort Is Everything

Not all mattresses are born equal, which is why we would recommend you find on that suits your child’s wants and needs, and a great source of info on this front is Mattress-Guides.net. You spend a third of your day in bed, and your child more, so being comfortable is super-important. Don’t stop at the mattress, though. Get comfy pajamas for them and soft bedding and make sure their room isn’t too hot or cold. It all plays a role.

5. Always Be Consistent

The human body loves a routine, even if you don’t. It likes knowing when meal times are and it likes knowing when bedtime is. More than this, though, you should have a bedtime routine that is somewhere between twenty and thirty minutes, and always finishes up in their bedroom. It could mean going upstairs, getting into pajamas, brushing teeth, reading a story and then having a chat with the lights off. So long as it is consistent, it will work.

Sleep is one of the most important things in life, and something every kid needs to grow, so make sure you place a healthy dollop of attention on this part of their well being.