A Good Night’s Sleep

Healthy Kids Need A Good Night's Sleep

To ensure a strong foundation for the development of your child’s body and mind, they need good quality sleep. Sometimes we forget that sleep is just as important as good food, water and exercise.  All these components fit together to make a well-balanced healthy child.

If your child is tired their mind is not alert or calm. Their attention span decreases and they are less likely to perform well at school because they have difficulty concentrating in class. 

It is a good idea to be consistent with regard to the time your child goes to bed. If they are young, reading them stories can be a lovely way to spend one-on-one time at the end of a busy day.  Older children may prefer to read on their own. Preschool children need around 10 to 13 hours of sleep a night while primary school children should get around 10 hours’ sleep each night.

Amount of Sleep

The amount of sleep required by children varies according to their age.

Setting the Scene for Sleep

Here are some ways to help them sleep:

• Keep everything calm before bed. If they are watching TV make sure they are not watching violent or high action shows which can over-stimulate them and may also cause nightmares.
• Make their bedrooms dark. Melatonin is the hormone that prepares us for sleep and is stimulated when it is dark. Natural light and light from TV’s, computers, phones and tablets can interfere with the release of this hormone. If your child is using a computer in bed, then they are less likely to have a good night’s sleep.
• Active kids have a better night’s sleep. If they are lying around on the couch for hours then they are not burning energy. Exercise, playing games, sport and activity in general will support good sleep.