How to get your child back into a better sleep routine ahead of new school year

How to get your child back into a better sleep routine ahead of new school yearThis Morning

Transcript

00:00A ten-year-old, for nearly a year now, will not go to bed on the routine that we set.

00:05She's going to bed at, like, half ten, eleven o'clock at night.

00:09And when we've tried to get her off at the set time, she's kicking and screaming.

00:15So this is nothing new. I think a lot of parents will really empathise with this.

00:21Every child is different, but on average, even as early as nine years old, your body clock can start to delay.

00:27So it sounds like your daughter, her internal rhythm is already starting to push back.

00:33That can make it difficult to fall asleep at the right time for school.

00:37So a ten-year-old, typically we'd recommend that they need about nine to eleven hours sleep each night.

00:42So if you sort of time it back from school start time, that's when you want to be thinking about, OK, that's lights out time.

00:48That's a lot of sleep, isn't it?

00:50It is a lot of sleep.

00:50But where you've got someone who's very resistant, you've got to help her, ideally, to transition her body clock a little bit earlier.

00:58Now, this is very possible if you're consistent.

01:01So what we need is bright light first thing in the morning and a very consistent wake-up time.

01:06So to start with, particularly with someone who's very resistant, almost ignore bedtime.

01:11Just focus on getting them out of bed at the same time each day.

01:15And when they get out of bed, lots of bright light encourage them to eat some breakfast, encourage them to move their bodies.

01:21Those are all cues that will send a big kind of wake-up message to the brain.

01:26And that starts the clock on the day.

01:28So hopefully, automatically, they will start to feel more sleepy 16, 17, 18 hours later.

01:34So it's basically manipulating the body clock.

01:37Yes, we're trying to tease it back.

01:39And then, of course, you want to start to also tease bedtime back.

01:43And usually, for children, that relies on a really calming bedtime routine.

01:48You can think of activities that she will enjoy that are calming.

01:52And we're not talking about a long process here, perhaps 30 minutes.

01:56Maybe there's a bath.

01:58Maybe there's reading a book.

01:59Maybe there's some kind of craft or colouring in that just calms her down.

02:03And then I would also say, if she's really resistant to falling asleep,

02:05it's still OK to be in bed with a dim light, perhaps reading, doing some craft activity.

02:13You can't force anyone to sleep, but at least you can get them in that state of relaxation.