Sleep Tips for Starting School

We are now starting to think about our little people returning to school or starting school and so thought I would write a blog on sleep tips for starting school. Since the summer holidays began I am very sure many of you have been out of your normal term time routines or indeed never really had a regular routine. Now that the summer holidays are soon to be over you may be thinking about what type of routine you may have regarding their evenings and sleep in the run up to the autumn school term and when they start school.

I write this blog having just put my child to bed after he had a pre-bedtime play wrestle with his Daddy. This is not our normal, quiet and relaxed bedtime routine but my child had become over-tired having spent a very busy weekend enjoying the Bristol Balloon Fiesta and sleep times went out of the window a little and he got his ‘second wind’ tonight and was giddy.  He has his independent sleep skills and we were able to practice some mindful techniques to calm his body and mind before bed.

Yes I am a sleep consultant but I am also Mother and a realist and at times we have fallen out of our normal routine with slightly later bedtimes and slightly later morning wake ups.  I never judge anyone at any time and I am not going to start doing so over lack of routine over the summer holidays as I know how precious and sometimes stressful these holidays are.

What we need to look at now is how to get back on track so that they are ready to get up for school days and are mentally and physically refreshed.

Starting school is such a huge milestone in yours and your little one’s life and there will be much excitement surrounding it.

Your child’s school will ease them into school life gently but the first few weeks will be exhausting for them. They will be learning about the school routine, i.e lunch times, play times, where things are in the school and maybe even getting used to wearing a uniform. They will have so much fun meeting new people and playing with new toys and learning new activities but this is also very tiring. Sleep is essential now especially when there is so much going. I have a blog on the benefits of sleep that you can have a read of here that will give you more insight to the science and need for good quality sleep.  Good sleep enables the body to produce proteins to fight infections that they are bound to pick up from school. The brain needs sleep so that it can process all of the days learning’s and memories which of course is vital for school, plus, the deep sleep cycle that happens during the first part of the night is the only time in a 24-hour period that the body can secrete the growth hormone.

•  Firstly I would advise you to start a bedtime routine if you do not already have one or if you do have a read of my better bedtime routine  blog for tips. Start a bedtime routine anytime but I would advise if you have the time to give at least 2 weeks of getting back into a strict routine and not leaving it until the last minute so that their body clocks can adjust before school starts. If they are currently having a later bedtime than usual then simply introduce a back to normal bedtime little by little. Move bedtime back 15 minutes every 3 days until you are back to the desired bedtime so that they get 10-12 hours night time sleep between the time they are asleep and waking up for school. If they are older children and can tell the time then you may need to be a little more imaginative and potentially adjust the clocks to read 15 minutes later.  Include some quiet and relaxing time before bed, take a look at relax kids website for tips to relax them.

•  I always recommend a pre-bedtime snack during a little bit of quiet time before the upstairs bedtime routine starts.  There are lots of snacks your child can have that are low in sugar and contain naturally occurring melatonin (the sleepy hormone) that will aid sleep. These include things like a banana or a piece of wholemeal toast, see a list of these here, and hey, who doesn’t love a pre bedtime snack, I know I do.

•  The bedroom environment is very important and you should make sure it is as close to 10/10 for darkness and that there are no glaring nightlights or projectors on when they sleep. When they wake in the night you want to ensure there is nothing stimulating that will catch their eye and wake them up. Their bedroom is for sleeping and so I would advise that all toys are shut away at night and their room is as relaxing and distraction free as possible.  

•  There will be break and lunch times at school whereby they can run around and get some daylight but you may also want to consider some outside play after school especially in the winter months as fresh air and exercise aid sleep.

•  Try not to over schedule after school activities especially in the first term as they will be very tired.

Remember to talk to them about their day. You may find that they do not say anything for a while as there is probably too much to tell but you will get snippets here and there and it will help them process their day before bedtime.